Unforeseen Hero
by Unimaginable Possibilities
Summary: ON HIATUS Galbatorix's son escapes from the dark King, bringing with him the last dragon egg and his ten year old best friend. They flee for their lives for Surda to deliver the egg to the Varden, but will they make it? And does he really know his friend?
1. Chapter One

This story takes place right after Eldest.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize from Christopher Paolini's books. However, I _do_ own everything you don't recognize. This disclaimer is for the entire story.

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**Unforeseen Hero**

_Chapter One_

_After the battle on The Burning Plains . . . _

Angry black eyes glared at the man and his red dragon in front of him. They had their heads bowed, afraid to meet the King's gaze.

"So," Galbatorix hissed. "You let them escape." The pair kept silent. "I'm deeply disappointed in you two. I trained you with all that I know, giving you more than enough power and skills to capture them, and still you come to me empty handed? Do you _want_ my plan to fail?"

"No, Master."

_No, Master._

"I didn't think that it was necessary before, but now I see that your susceptible behavior toward your brother has affected your judgment. You both will swear to me in the Ancient language the capture of both Rider and dragon _alive_ no matter what it takes." They did so, but not without reluctance. Nevertheless, Galbatorix seemed satisfied since the language bound them to their word. "Now leave, and don't you dare come back without them – or I may lose my patience."

Once the hall was deserted except for Galbatorix, a boy of fifteen came out from the shadows. He ran a hand through his inch-long black hair and gazed upon the King with his crude dark eyes.

"Why do you insist on using Murtagh to capture the Rider?" he asked in a dour tone. Galbatorix turned to him.

"I don't need to explain myself; least of all to you, _boy_," the King said harshly. The boy shrugged his shoulders.

"You and I both know that he's bound to make another crucial mistake."

"He's doing a better job than _you_ ever will. A dragon actually chose _him_." The simple statement changed the boy's indifferent approach to the argument. He clenched his jaw.

"It isn't my fault I wasn't chosen," he said through his teeth. Galbatorix sneered, knowing he touched a nerve.

"You are just like your mother . . . worthless," he spat. The boy glared at him.

"If I'm so worthless, then why do you keep me around?" he asked heatedly.

"Careful, boy," the King hissed. "You don't _want_ to die, do you?" The boy held his head defiantly, looking the King straight in the eyes. The King raised his hand and slightly parted his lips to speak – which made the boy cower in fear.

"No! No; I don't want to die," he said, defeated. Galbatorix curled his lip in disgust.

"I don't want to look at your pathetic face anymore. Leave me. Now." The boy turned on his heel and stormed out.

_You know, you _used_ to like your son_, came Shruikan's gruff voice.

_Speak when you're spoken to, dragon_, the King snapped. Shruikan withdrew from his mind, and Galbatorix was left to brood on the matter on his own.

……………

Taiven marched angrily from the throne room with his arms held stiffly at his sides, his hands in fists. He didn't even shiver as he passed through the cold, dark halls of the castle to his chambers. When he reached his door, he flung it open and then slammed it closed. The sound resounded loudly off the walls, which would most likely carry to where the King was and result in a punishment of some sort, but Taiven didn't care. He was so tired of his so-called _father_'s behavior toward him. His father wasn't always so cruel. It was all because of those stupid eggs.

When he was small, Galbatorix actually showed _some_ affection toward him. Granted, it wasn't much, but at least Taiven felt wanted. Then, when he was about nine or ten, Galbatorix brought him to the highly guarded room that held the last two dragon eggs. Taiven eyed them eagerly and rushed to lay a hand on them in hopes that one would hatch for him – but neither egg did. His father never looked at him the same again; there was always a hint of aversion in his cold, black eyes.

A knock came from the door. Taiven glared at it. He knew it wasn't his father; Galbatorix never visited his room, even if it was to punish him, and sent servants with his orders instead. Plus, he wouldn't have knocked. When no answer came from Taiven, the knock was heard again. He grew irritated.

"What is it?" he snapped.

"Taiven, it's me. Can I come in?" asked a small voice, slightly muffled through the door.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess," Taiven replied in a more gentle tone. The door opened to reveal a little boy of nine with dark blonde hair and big green eyes. His servant's attire was too big for his scrawny form, which resulted in the collar of his shirt hanging off one shoulder. A piece of rope was tied around his waist so his pants wouldn't fall down. The boy smiled at him, revealing a few missing teeth.

"Hey Cale. Lost another tooth, did you?" Taiven observed. Cale's smile widened.

"Yep! And I got another one growin' in right here," he said while pointing to a gap between his front tooth and canine. Taiven gave him a halfhearted smile. "So, what's the matter?" Cale asked timidly. "I heard your door slam from all the way across the castle and was just wonderin' what happened." Taiven's expression hardened.

"It's nothing, Cale. Don't worry about it," he replied, his voice mimicking his features.

"Come on, Taiven. I know you well enough to know that it's not 'nothing'," Cale said. Taiven remained silent. "Did you and the King get in another fight?"

Giving up, Taiven answered, "Yeah. He called me worthless and threatened my life . . . again."

"Oh." Cale looked down at his feet. "Um, Taiven?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think you're worthless," he said, glancing up.

"I know. Thanks, Cale," Taiven said, giving him a genuine smile. The boy's eyes shined. "You'd better get back to your duties before you get into trouble." Cale nodded and shut the door behind him as he left.

Taiven smiled to himself. He always felt better after a visit from Cale. He knew that the boy looked up to him. He was the only role model Cale had. Cale's father was a military man, but he died in a battle before Cale was born and his mother didn't live much longer. He was forced to fend for himself at but five years old and was found wandering the streets until being sold to Galbatorix's possession. Taiven took the boy under his wing, showing compassion inherited most likely from his mother, who died when Taiven was quite young, feeling that the boy and he had much in common. They've been like brothers ever since.

Minutes after Cale left, another knock was heard. This time though, Taiven answered it himself, thinking it was Cale again.

"I told you to— Oh." Taiven looked upon a servant several years older than he, yet Taiven was still slightly taller. The man met his gaze. Unlike Galbatorix, Taiven didn't have a reason to be feared. Besides, no one actually knew that he was the King's son. Galbatorix made sure of that. Taiven was only viewed as another one of the King's soldiers in his armed forces.

"His majesty would like to see you," the man said. Taiven sighed.

"Very well," he replied. _I wonder what my punishment is going to be today_, he thought as the servant led him to the throne room.

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What do you think? Sorry if it's a little slow; it'll become more intense in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! 

Review, please. :)


	2. Chapter Two

Thanks to my three reviewers! You guys rule!

Disclaimer: See

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_Chapter Two_

_One week later . . ._

"A week has gone by and there is still no word from Murtagh with the whereabouts of the Rider or his dragon, your majesty," the servant said. He kept his eyes lowered as a slave should and spoke a tad higher than a whisper. Galbatorix tensed in anger, and soon, Shruikan's voice was heard.

_Perhaps your son was right. Why indeed trust one so corrupt as Morzan's son to carry out your plans?_

_Morzan was my first true ally, so be careful how you talk about him, _he replied threateningly.

_My apologies; I didn't mean to insult Morzan. I only implied that his son seems untrustworthy._

_Yes; well, as I've told you before, _dragon_, when I tell you to speak, you may do so. Until then, keep your thoughts out of my head_.

"Your majesty?" the servant piped up. There was a bit of uncertainty in his voice. Galbatorix narrowed his eyes at him.

"Bring me Taiven," he said in a deadly tone. The servant, knowing the King's temper, gulped hard and almost ran out of the room before Galbatorix could let loose his anger on _him_.

……………

Taiven followed the anxious servant to his father's throne room, observing the servant's manner of walking and the way he kept ringing his hands.

_Something's wrong_, he thought. _I haven't done anything, but that doesn't mean he won't do something to me anyway._ When they arrived, Galbatorix ordered the servant to leave to where he and Taiven were the only two in the room. After what felt like ages to Taiven, Galbatorix finally spoke, his menacing voice barely above a whisper.

"Do you know why I called you here?" he asked. Taiven considered his behavior from the past week.

"No, not really," he answered. Galbatorix glared at him.

"Nothing comes to mind?" He pronounced his words slowly as though speaking to someone without much brain activity. Taiven grew irritated but kept his temper in check. He didn't want Galbatorix to have a reason to punish him – not like that's ever stopped him before.

"No." Galbatorix's expression hardened.

"A week ago, you said that it was foolish for me to put any faith in Murtagh. I didn't think you had the nerve to call _me_ a fool."

"I didn't say anything like that!" Taiven protested. "I said that I didn't understand why you would use the Blue Rider's brother to capture him."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"No! I—"

"Oh! So, that must mean that _you_ lied to _me_."

"Wait, what?—"

"I don't like people who lie to me—"

"But, wait! I didn't—"

"And to make sure that you _never_ lie to me again . . ."

Suddenly, Taiven felt a sinister and much stronger presence in his mind. The new presence overpowered him to where he couldn't move. His whole body felt like lead, and he had difficulty breathing. He watched as Galbatorix flicked his wrist, and he felt himself flying through the air. Taiven's body collided forcefully with the back wall and fell to the floor. His head slammed against the hard stone, and his world went black.

……………

Taiven awoke facedown on a cold stone floor, wondering where he was. He groaned and held his pounding head. Suddenly, pain erupted from his mouth. He noticed that it was filled with a rust tasting, thick liquid. He spit on the floor and let out a small scream, his eyes widening in horror. Blood splattered the floor. Taiven tried to move his tongue but couldn't. He hoped it was only swollen, yet he feared the worst. He cupped his mouth, looking up to realize that he was in his room, and ran to his mirror where a bowl of water lay before it.

Dunking his hands in the clear, cool water, he washed out his mouth. Then, opening his mouth wide, he stared in disbelief at his stub of a tongue. Galbatorix, his own father, had cut off his tongue. Tears streamed down his face. He knew that he would never be able to speak properly again, let alone lie to Galbatorix. The King had tortured him before for something that he didn't do because he was angry with someone else, but this time he had gone too far.

Taiven's expression hardened. He wiped his tears. _This was the last straw_, he thought. _What would cost Dear Father greatly?_ An idea came to him. It would be difficult, but he had made up his mind. At that moment, knocking came from his door. He answered it and ushered in a frightened Cale.

"Taiven!" he exclaimed, embracing Taiven around the middle quite tightly. "I was getting worried! I saw three servants carry you up to your room _yesterday_! What happened?" he asked, finally letting go.

Taiven lowered his eyes. Cale noticed. "What's the matter, Taiven? Why won't you tell me?" Taiven pointed to his mouth and shook his head.

"You mean, you can't tell me?" Cale asked. The teenager nodded. "Oh. . . Is it because of magic?"

Taiven shook his head. He sighed deeply and lifted his eyes to the ceiling. _I _really_ don't want to show him._

"Is it because you don't _want_ to tell me?" Cale asked. Taiven caught the sadness in the boy's voice and shook his head again. He looked at Cale's small quizzical face. Realizing that he didn't have a choice, he reluctantly opened his mouth. Cale let out a horrified gasp.

"He did that to you! Oh, Taiven! Why if I were bigger and stronger, I'd teach him a thing or two!" Taiven put his finger to his lips to silence the boy. Cale took the hint and pretended to zip his lips shut. Then, he leaned in and whispered, "What are you gonna do, Taiven?"

Taiven hesitated and then began to try and speak slowly.

"I'm eshapig. Oo ca come if oo wah oo, bu ih wih be ageroush sho shoosh wishee," he said difficultly. Cale's eyebrows furrowed, trying to put together what he was trying to say. Taiven stared hopelessly at him. _How am I ever going to communicate with him? If only I had taught him to broaden his mind._ Then, a thought struck him. Taiven rummaged around his room for some parchment and a pen, thanking his lucky stars that he _did_ teach the boy to read and write. He scribbled words on the paper and gave it to Cale. The boy accepted it respectfully. It read:

**I'm escaping. You can come if you want to, but it will be dangerous so choose wisely.**

Cale looked up into Taiven's eyes. "If you leave, there won't be any reason for me to stay. You're my best friend." Taiven smiled and ruffled he boy's hair. He grabbed the pen and wrote another message.

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Yea! Second chapter up:) 

By the way, I _was_ going to leave it when Taiven blacked out, but I figured that I made you guys wait long enough for this chapter. Besides, it was just a little over 500 words; how unsatisfying is that? Anyway, please review!


	3. Chapter Three

Hi! I am SO sorry it took so long to update. I've been super busy with school and then unfortunately became ill; it was horrible. Anyway, enough with the excuses!

Thanks so much to my 6 reviews for the last chapter! On with the story!

Disclaimer: See _Chapter One

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_Chapter Three_

Taiven lay upon his bed looking up at the ceiling hours after Cale had left and pondered the best way to carry out his plan. It would be difficult, but completely worth it. His _father_ was going to pay dearly for what he did. That is, _if_ everything went according to plan. He let his heavy eyelids finally fall as he drifted into a light sleep. A smile was upon his lips despite the constant throbbing pain from his severed tongue.

The light of the morning sun warmed Taiven's empty bed. He was up since the brink of dawn making a list of everything Cale and he would need for their journey. He wrote down the last item and slipped the list into his long shirt sleeve. His hands shook a little as he reached for the handle to his door. Making the list was the easy part, _now_ he had to actually gather the things they would need without looking suspicious.

He fought off the nervous feeling and began to casually – well, as casual as one who was dreadfully uneasy could be – wander around the castle so as not to give any implication that he was doing anything out of the ordinary. However, while he was doing so, he was subtly gathering everything on his list (mostly food) and stuffing them under his shirt or even using some of the secret passageways throughout the castle. Of course, he _was_ making quite a few trips back and forth from his room to disperse of the articles that were obvious to his escape, but he was hoping that the trips weren't all that noticeable.

When he had finished collecting all of the items but one from his list, he made his way back into his room. Four packs lay in the middle of his floor. Two of them were full of nonperishable foods such as loaves of bread, dried meats, etc. Another had almost a gallon of water in four canteens, a few shirts and pants for both Taiven and Cale, and two bows with eight arrows each. The last pack had several sheets of parchment, two bottles of ink and a pen. It also had enough room for the final item on the list. Lying nearby was Taiven's sword and a smaller sword he stole for Cale along with two black cloaks that would camouflage the boys as they traveled by the shadows through the castle and the city.

Then, Taiven suddenly thumped himself on his forehead with the palm of his hand as he realized his problem. The two of them couldn't possibly carry all four packs by themselves. Cale, who was only ten, was very scrawny for his age, and Taiven, though he was fairly strong, could barely carry two and only for a short distance. His eyebrows furrowed as he considered his possibilities at stealing a horse or two. Making up his mind, he heaved the two packs of food over his shoulders, covered himself with a cloak, and made his way down to the stables as the sun rapidly sank in the horizon.

……………

About a couple of hours later, Taiven glanced up through his window at the tiny sliver of the moon that shone brightly though only a fraction was exposed. He gave a heavy sigh. It was time. Taiven grabbed the pack to hold the last item and silently crept out of his room and through the castle to the fourth floor where the royal treasury awaited him. He paused just before the hallway he was in joined the hallway that led to treasury – where the last of the dragon eggs was located. He breathed deeply to try and calm his anxious nerves. He closed his eyes, concentrating on what he was about to do. He slowly peeked around the corner.

At the end of the hallway, two guards were leaning against the wall on either side of huge red oak double-doors. One's eyelids were droopy and the other was undoubtedly sleeping, but the two weren't the only obstacles Taiven had to overcome. Ever since the blue egg was stolen, Galbatorix placed numerous spells and enchantments upon the double-doors and walls surrounding the last dragon egg. However, Taiven knew how to acquire the necessary information for him to pass through unscathed – the tricky part was acquiring such information.

Each guard was given three different passwords every shift. The passwords only worked if all six are said together – and in the correct order – while gradually turning the two handles of the doors simultaneously. And, if that wasn't enough, the guards were taught to put up strong barriers around their minds in addition to knowing if anyone was trying to penetrate their minds. They were to notify the King immediately after an encounter. Taiven wondered if the passwords had to be said aloud, because he highly doubted that he would be able to say them correctly.

_Maybe this is just too impossible_, he thought, but then his tongue gave a painful throb and the thought was quickly disregarded. He gathered his courage, reached for the magic, and hoped that the spell would work with him only thinking hard on the words. Galbatorix had taught Taiven when he was younger (when his father actually _did_ still teach him things) that one did not have to _say_ a spell for it to work, but Taiven hadn't tried very hard in his lessons. He didn't think that there was a need to learn that technique, since it was easier just to say them. Now, however, he was regretting his lack of interest for different methods of training. With any luck, though, the magic would work for him if he concentrated hard enough. After all, he _was_ Galbatorix's son.

Taiven thought hard on a spell to put the guards in a deep sleep, because in a state such as that, they were less likely to have their barriers up. Seconds passed . . . and then minutes. He was almost ready to admit defeat when, to his delight, two soft thumps were heard from the end of the hall. Without delay, Taiven easily delved into the mind of the guard that was already asleep before the spell, finding the three words and their order. He pulled out of the man's subconscious and delved into the other – only to slam into a fierce wall. Taiven cursed. He wasn't expecting any of the guards to be that advanced with their barricades.

He poked and prodded the wall as swiftly and as gently as possible so as to not wake the guard. After what felt like a half an hour, but was probably only a couple of minutes, he found a break in the wall and extracted the needed information. Taiven quickly withdrew from the guard's mind only to realize that the man was beginning to wake up. Panic flooded Taiven's body, making him shake uncontrollably. His mind raced for the words in the Ancient Language to put the guard to sleep again – but this time, permanently. He focused on the words as best as he could with the constant threat of the guard already warning the King hanging above him.

At last, Taiven felt the guard slip away, and the boy stepped into the hallway to face the doors. His heart then felt heavy. He didn't want to kill them, but there wasn't any other choice. He kneeled in front of the one still in sleep, noticing the steady rise and fall of the man's chest, and reluctantly thought of the words from the Ancient Language. The man's breathing slowed immensely until his chest moved no more. Taiven stood. He gazed dismally at the lifeless guards for several seconds.

_It had to be done, Taiven_, he told himself firmly, trying to defend what he did. _If they weren't dead, they could have alerted the King – if the one hadn't already. . . . It was either them, or me._ He gave the men a regretful expression before focusing his attention to the doors.

He played the newly learned phrase over and over in his head and took a deep breath, letting it out very slowly. He shouted the first word in his head, which was supposed to release the magic from the door handles so he could turn them while saying the other words. He reached for the handles – and singed his fingers by the magical shield surrounding them. He cursed again.

_What am I going to do?_ he thought. _I'm already this far._ He pondered his options and snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. _I only hope it won't be too late. Father usually checks in on his guards after a few hours._ He ran to his room as fast and as quietly as possible. He opened his door to find Cale sitting on his bed looking extremely bored. The boy jumped up when he saw his friend.

"Taiven! There you are! I've been waiting for ages. Where have you been?"

Taiven scrounged in the pack at his side and pulled out a piece of parchment, a pen and some ink. He scribbled a message and thrust it in Cale's outstretched hand. He then wrote down six words in a specific order and gave them to Cale as well.

**I need your help. I didn't want to get you involved in this, but I have no choice now. You're my last chance. Will you please follow me quickly and quietly up to the fourth floor? I need you to say those six words I gave you – **Cale looked at the other piece of paper in his hand** – in the order they are written down when I tell you to, okay? **

Cale looked up. "Of course I'll help you, Taiven. You didn't even have to ask, but Taiven . . . I can't do magic."

Taiven shook his head and scribbled another message.

**It isn't magic. The words aren't even in the Ancient Language. They're just passwords. Anyone can say them.**

"Oh, okay," Cale replied, finally understanding. "Then let's go!"

They sped off to the fourth floor. Taiven stopped Cale before he ventured into the hallway. He peeked around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. Then, he motioned for Cale to follow him.

"Taiven," Cale whispered with wide eyes, "this is the royal treasury." Taiven nodded as he walked toward the doors, Cale following closely behind. When they were right in front of them, Taiven inclined his head for Cale to begin.

"Release" – Taiven reached for the handles. This time he wasn't singed and he began to turn the handles as Cale continued – "the magic which prevents entry." Taiven opened the doors with elated energy. He motioned for Cale to stay outside while he grabbed several handfuls of money and the huge green egg perched in the middle of the room.

They made their way back to Taiven's room where they grabbed the other pack, the swords, and the cloaks. The boys put the cloaks on and then rushed to the stables where two horses stood ready. One already had the two packs of food strapped on. Taiven helped Cale onto her and then strapped the two packs he held on the other horse. He wanted the egg to stay by him. Plus, he had no intention of telling Cale that they even have the last of the dragon eggs in their possession.

Once they were ready, Taiven urged his horse forward. Cale did the same, and soon they were upon the gates. Taiven dismounted and used his key to unlock them. He led his horse through while Cale rode behind. Taiven was just about to close the gates when a sudden force pried its way into his mind. He desperately tried to put up his barriers, but it was no use. He knew who it was. Taiven fell to his knees and he heard Cale shout something he couldn't make out.

Galbatorix mercilessly dug into every part of his mind, trying to figure out what he had done, how he had done it, and where he was now. The King was close to finding out about the egg when he was suddenly forced out of the boy's mind. Taiven felt something around his neck and arms around his waist. Galbatorix finally abandoned the effort, sending guards to capture the boy instead. Relief swept through Taiven. He noticed that Cale was hugging him around his waist and a necklace with a small teardrop green crystal was hanging from his neck.

Without thinking, he said, "Come on, Cao. We haf coo ge ou of he-a." Then, he stood up and mounted his horse. Cale struggled to mount his, but soon succeeded and followed Taiven's galloping horse through the city – the guards only yards behind.

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Yea! Chapter 3 is finished! I hope you liked it!

Hey cool; this is my longest chapter yet! Though, don't expect the succeeding chapters to be as long or longer. Some may be, but we shall see. By the way, should I up the rating to 'T', since I have some people dieing and having their tongues severed? I wasn't sure; maybe just to be safe I should. What do you guys think?

Anyway, please review!


	4. Chapter Four

Hey all! So, I had to up my rating to 'T' to avoid any trouble, but I'm sure most of you are at least 13 or older, and if you aren't, you probably couldn't care less if you were or were not of age to read it. :)

Thanks to my fabulous 5 reviewers! On to Chapter Four! Yea!

Disclaimer: See _Chapter One

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_

_Chapter Four_

Taiven and Cale raced their horses through the narrow streets of the city, dodging carts containing products sold in the market place, and all the while trying to keep ahead of the swiftly advancing guards. The sound of the horses' hooves pounding against the stone flooring of the streets resounded throughout the city. Lights dotted the windows of the surrounding houses as the sound woke up their inhabitants, who came out with a candle in hand and still dressed in their night garments to see what was going on. Their lights made it easier to see the streets as the riders sped through them.

The two boys neared the middle of the city where a large statue of the King was situated and where the streets veered off in several different directions. A slight bend in the street they were on was just up ahead. _If we could ride far enough in front of the guards,_ Taiven thought,_ we could gain enough time for us to lose them, and then . . . Yes; that just might work. _He urged his horse faster and heard Cale's horse follow suit. _Yes! Now, how am I going to tell Cale?_ Taiven debated with himself for a few seconds before he made up his mind. He didn't like what he was about to do. _But it's the only way, _he thought. He opened his mind and found Cale's.

_Cale, don't be afraid. It's me, Taiven_, he thought to Cale.

"Taiven?" came the boy's surprised voice behind him.

_I'm sorry I have to communicate this way, but we don't have time, _he said quickly._ Now, listen carefully. After we round this corner up ahead, I want you to take the second right. Understand? The _second right_. I'm going left. We'll meet outside the city. Ready? _

"But, Taiven! I don't think we should—"

_Now!_

Taiven steered his horse to the left and glanced over his shoulder to watch Cale disappear down the street he was supposed to. The two streets curved and twisted, finally leading to the outer parts of the city. With them each taking a separate street, the sound of hooves should confuse the guards into wondering which way they went, making the guards pause just long enough for Taiven and Cale to gain a good lead.

Taiven's horse pounded down the street with his rider looking behind him every now and then. _So far so good,_ Taiven thought. Up ahead was a long stretch of road before it opened up into the vast land outside of the dark city. As he neared the end of the street, relief swept through him when he found an unharmed Cale smiling back at him. Taiven slowed his horse when he came close to the boy, but then immediately sped up. Once Taiven couldn't hear the sound of his own horse's hooves, he heard the guards' not far behind. While he passed Cale, he inclined his head for the boy to follow. He heard Cale's horse galloping behind him and urged his horse faster, listening for Cale to follow suit. Cale did so and soon surpassed Taiven. The boy looked back at Taiven and grinned widely. Taiven smirked and shook his head.

In moments, they were at a fork in the road with three paths each leading to a different city. The path going right led to Dras-Leona, the one in the middle led to Melian, and the one on the left led to Furnost. Cale slowed his horse and waited for Taiven, since the boy had no idea where they were going. Taiven took the path on the left, and Cale rode on after him. Taiven searched the land for anything that would conceal Cale and him until the guards either passed them or gave up. He figured it would be the latter. Galbatorix's guards generally didn't have a very high attention span. Then again, because he _did_ have something worth considerable value to the King, they may actually search longer than usual.

The sun began to rise and their horses were growing tired being in a constant gallop. Taiven knew that if they kept this up, the horses wouldn't be of any use to them later on. He decided to slow them down to a fast trot. It was a good thing he did, too; otherwise he wouldn't have spotted the very thing he was searching for: a place to hide. He pulled on his horse's reins for him to stop and motioned for Cale to do the same. Mounds of sand and dirt surrounded them, but one particular hill caught Taiven's eye. It wasn't any bigger than the rest, but at the base of the hill, on the side unseen to the eyes traveling on the road, was a ditch. Taiven only hoped it was big enough to fit two horses.

He rode his horse, Cale following behind, to the trench-like hole behind the hill. He dismounted and made his horse lay in the hole. Cale watched him, and then tried to do the same with his horse – except she wouldn't lie down for him. Taiven smiled as he walked over to help. When they were all situated, the only thing to do was wait . . . and wait . . . and wait. Finally, after what felt like an hour of waiting and not one bit of any of the guards was seen, they decided that the guards must have given up. As they rose from the hole, they smiled to themselves, rejoicing that they were finally free and continued on the road to their escape.

The sun was high in the sky before Cale finally spoke, "Why didn't you just talk to me like that before? And now? It'd be a lot easier." Puzzled, Taiven thought about what he meant. When it came to him after a moment, he shook his head while rummaging around in the pack that contained the parchment and grabbed a piece. His handwriting, which was already somewhat poor, was made worse with him writing while on horseback. Cale took the paper, but it took him a minute or two to make out Taiven's chicken scratch.

**It's a violation of your privacy.**

"Oh I don't care. Really, Taiven, I'll let you." Taiven shook his head yet again, took his note from Cale's hand, and wrote beneath the previous line.

**I _do_ care. I will _only_ use that type of communication in an emergency. Okay?**

Cale's eyes were downcast as he returned the paper. "Fine," he said dispirited. Then he muttered low enough for Taiven not to hear, "Writing's so much slower. And a pain." Taiven narrowed his eyes and then raised an eyebrow in askance, but Cale shrugged it off. They rode in silence until resting for lunch when Taiven scribbled something else on a piece of paper and handed it to Cale.

**Thanks for saving me back there at the gates. I owe you one.**

Cale smiled. "You don't owe me anything, Taiven. When the King made me his servant, I didn't know _anyone_ and you just looked after me no questions asked. _You_ saved _me_ when you became my friend. We'll call it even." Taiven just stared at him, a small grin playing on his lips. _It's amazing the sort of things he comes up with_, he thought. _Sometimes he seems much older than he is, like at the gates._

It was then when he remembered the crystal hanging from his neck. He grabbed the paper from Cale and wrote:

**Cale, can I ask you about the crystal?**

"What do you want to know?"

**Where did you get it? And how do you know what it does?**

Cale lifted his eyes from the paper to see Taiven looking at him expectantly. The boy took a deep breath and began slowly, "Well, my mother gave it to me before she died. I was five, I think. I don't know how it works. My mother told me that it would protect me from harm, to always keep it around my neck, and to tell no one about it." He paused, realizing what he just said, and looked over at Taiven, smiling sheepishly. "You're an exception. You needed it more than I did then."

Taiven smiled gratefully, but then furrowed his eyebrows and scribbled another note. **So, you don't know how it works at all? How did you know that it would protect me from the King's magic?**

Cale shrugged. "Well, I didn't really. I only hoped. You looked like you were in so much pain, and I couldn't watch whatever was happening to you go on." Taiven nodded his head in complete understanding. If anything happened to Cale, and especially under his watch, he would never forgive himself.

Feeding and watering the horses came before he would allow Cale and him to eat. He put a grain bag around horses's mouth, and then, after the bag was removed, he let Cale feed them an apple. As for getting them some water, he mentally kicked himself for not bringing anything with him for them to drink out of, so he had to use his hand instead. They drank thankfully as Taiven poured the water constantly, never letting his hand become dry until they were finished.

The boys ate in silence. Eating was made extremely difficult for Taiven as he had nothing to move his food around in his mouth. Instead, he had to move his head from side to side, making him look profoundly ridiculous. Nevertheless, Cale kept his laughter to himself. He knew it would hurt Taiven's feelings and it also wasn't his fault that he didn't have a tongue. When they finished, Taiven wrote one last note.

**Well, we'd better get moving. We have about three more days until we reach Furnost.**

They packed up the horses and set off on their journey to Furnost, and then eventually Aberon – where Taiven heard the Varden were now located.

* * *

Whoo hoo! Chapter 4 is finished! This chapter's cool. It gives a mysterious edge to Cale's heritage (and Cale himself), which stirs up questions that will, of course, be answered . . . but not until later in the story. Questions like, where did the crystal come from before given to Cale's mother? _Was_ it given to her? Or did she steal it? Maybe she created it. Who were Cale's parents exactly? Is there more to Cale than Taiven thinks? Who really knows?

Oh wait, I do. :D Review, please!


	5. Chapter Five

Yea! Six reviews! I hope this extra long chapter makes up for this update being so dang late. Sorry about that. I've been super busy with Finals week and the holidays were hectic. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: See _Chapter One

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_

_Chapter Five_

The following day had passed with little complications for the two travelers. Now, on the third day of their journey, the sun rose only hours before, and they had just finished their breakfast. Cale was whistling tunelessly, while Taiven was contemplating how they would get through Furnost without being recognized, or worse: caught. They were to arrive in the city in about two day's time – at least, that's what he'd figured. He had traveled to Furnost several times with the King's army and was almost positive.

Cale looked over at Taiven. "Whatcha thinkin' about?" he asked. Taiven glanced at the boy and shook his head. Cale slumped his shoulders, seeming disappointed in his answer. They were riding close enough, so Taiven tapped him on the shoulder. When the boy met his eyes, he gestured to ask 'what' without words.

"Well . . . we never just talk anymore. I mean, I know that you can't, but we can still communicate through thought, even if you feel that _it's a violation of my privacy,_" he responded, saying the last part in mocking tone. "But, is it really when I say that it's okay? I mean, it's not like you're searching my mind for things I don't want you to see."

Taiven sighed, pondering the boy's reasoning. _He does have a point,_ he thought. _And it _is _easier than writing everything I want to say down, especially when my handwriting is made worse by being on horseback. _Taiven sighed once more only this time in defeat. _Jeez, how old is this kid again?_ he asked himself in jest.

_All right, Cale. You win,_ he thought to the boy. Cale grinned widely.

"So what _were_ you thinking about?" he asked again.

_Nothing really. Just how to get through Furnost without being caught._

"Oh," he replied still smiling from ear to ear, which made Taiven smile as well. "When will we get to Furnost?"

_In a couple day's time. You know, you can communicate through thought, too. All you have to do is think your answers to me._

"Yeah, I know, but you're only right beside me. I'll probably use the other way when I know you can't hear me if I talk aloud," he replied. Taiven shrugged his shoulders. "Will we be there for long?"

_Where?_ Taiven asked without thinking.

"In Furnost," Cale answered in a tone that plainly said 'duh'.

Taiven narrowed his eyes at the boy in mock anger. Cale responded with a careless shrug of one shoulder, which awarded him a sudden smack in the back of the head by Taiven.

"Hey!" Cale shouted in a whiney voice, rubbing the place Taiven hit him.

_What?_ Taiven asked, feigning innocence. _I didn't do anything; I'm way over here._

"Yeah, you are _now_. How long are we staying in Furnost?" Cale asked again, only this time in an irritated tone.

_Just long enough to replenish our supplies so we can make it to Petrøvya in Surda. I've never been there so I don't know how long it will take us, but we can get an estimate from someone in Furnost._

Cale remained quiet through lunch and part of the afternoon, but Taiven didn't mind him not talking as he was still trying to come up with a plan to disguise them from the guards inside the city. Finally not being able to stand the silence any longer, Cale broke it.

"Hey Taiven, what all did you take from the treasury?"

The question caught Taiven off guard and it took him a moment to answer. _Why do you want to know?_ he asked suspiciously.

"I was just wondering."

_Oh. I, uh, took a couple handfuls of money so we wouldn't have to steal anything. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be known throughout Alagaësia as a thief._

"No, me either. But, didn't you steal the money to begin with?"

_Well,_ he thought hesitantly to Cale. Then he thought to himself, _Crap; I forgot how clever he is. What am I supposed to say exactly? I mean, it _is_ technically my inheritance so it belongs to me too, but how am I going to explain that to Cale without giving away my heritage?_

"'Well' what?" Cale asked. Taiven bit his lip in thought. "There's something you're not telling me, Taiven. I can sense it." Taiven looked at the boy with pleading eyes for him not to pry into the subject any further. "You can tell me, you know," Cale continued. "No matter what it is, you can trust me."

The teenager withdrew his gaze. Obviously the look wasn't working. _I would, Cale. Really,_ Taiven thought to him in a monotonous tone. _But, I'm just too . . . afraid of what you might think of me if I do. And then who will ever trust me if you won't?_

"If my trust is worth that much to you, then why are you hiding things from me? Tell me," Cale said firmly, stopping his horse, "Or I'm not going with you any farther."

Taiven turned and looked at the boy square in the eyes. _You have _no idea_ what you are asking me to say._ Cale raised his chin in defiance. _All right fine,_ Taiven said in defeat. _Just keep in mind that he is_ not _part of me, even if I am a part of him._ Cale furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but stayed silent. Taiven closed his eyes, concentrating on the best way to break the horrifying news to his best friend._ I didn't exactly _steal _the money from the treasury; I borrowed it. You see, it belongs to me as well . . . as my inheritance._

Taiven hesitantly opened his eyes to see Cale's reaction. The boy's confused expression lingered for a couple seconds before recognition flashed in his eyes. "You mean that King Galbatorix is _your father_?" he asked, whispering the last words. He then cupped his mouth as though the words he uttered were forbidden and a look of disgust was upon his face, which made Taiven's stomach curl. The look was too much for the teenager, and he held his head in shame. He felt Cale's small hand grasp his shoulder. "It sickens me to think that a person can treat his own son the way he treats you, Taiven. I mean, _your own_ _father_ cut off your tongue." Revulsion passed before his face once again and it was then when Taiven realized that the look of disgust was held for Galbatorix's demeanor toward him and not because Cale thought ill of him.

_So you're okay with traveling in the company of Galbatorix's son?_ asked Taiven.

"It's like you said, Taiven: You may be part of him, but he's not part of you. I believe that you are a much better person than he'll ever be." Taiven smiled at him.

_Thanks, Cale._

"Although, I _am_ still a little upset that you didn't tell me this sooner. I thought I was your best friend?"

_You _are_; that's why it was so difficult to tell you. Please try to understand._

Cale nodded his head. "I guess I do."

Taiven was glad that the boy took the news so well, but he still had one more secret that he was determined to keep hidden. He reached into the saddlebag which held the egg and patted it in reassurance that it was still there.

……………

Night fell quickly, and soon they were settling by a fire made from the small bushes and twigs that littered the area. They unbound their bedrolls and laid them out. Taiven then unbelted the saddles from the horses and set them down. Orange light from the fire danced on the blade of an unsheathed sword from one of the bags, catching Taiven's attention. He remembered the reason he brought the weapons and shielded the blades. Then, he turned to Cale, who was adding twigs to the fire.

_Hey, Cale._

"Yeah?"

_Want to spar?_ Taiven asked, smirking. He held out the hilt of the small sword he stole for Cale, who accepted it eagerly. They drew their blades and stood facing each other; their bodies positioned in their own particular stance ready for either boy to make his first move. Taiven had tried to teach Cale patience before when they had sparred, but within a minute, the boy was the first to strike. Taiven watched as Cale swung for his right side. He parried the blow with ease, knocking the sword clean out of Cale's hand.

_I have told you before that patience will help you spot any opportunities available for you to defeat your opponent. You were too eager to strike therefore unprepared to fight adequately,_ Taiven lectured.

Cale pouted as he made his way over to his sword. He returned with determination in his eyes. Taiven stood ready. Cale searched for anything to give him an advantage over the fight but couldn't find anything. He charged at Taiven, his sword brandishing about to distract the teenager, and swung. Taiven blocked each blow Cale threw at him until he found an opening in his opponent's guard, which wasn't too difficult given how the boy was advancing. He forced his sword through the opening and hit Cale quite forcefully on his knee. Cale yelped in pain and collapsed, leaving Taiven to bring his sword up to the boy's neck. Cale pushed it away with his hand.

"Jeez, Taiven! You didn't have to hit me so hard!" he shouted, his eyes brimming with tears.

_Sorry, but I don't believe an enemy would soften their blows just because you're much younger, so neither will I. And by the way, your first mistake was thinking that waving your sword around would divert me. I thought I taught you better than that._

Cale glared at him and made no effort to stand so they could continue their duel.

_Okay, I guess we're done for tonight,_ Taiven thought as he sheathed his sword. Cale was in a bad mood for the rest of the night, so Taiven left him alone and they soon slipped into their bedrolls. He was about to tell Cale 'goodnight' when he heard the boy's soft snores; whether they were genuine or not Taiven couldn't decipher, so he decided to let Cale sleep off his anger.

……………

Early the next morning, Taiven was prodding Cale awake to be on their way. It took a couple of minutes as the boy was almost near impossible to pry out of bed, but eventually they were on their horses with an apple in hand for their breakfast.

"What I wouldn't give for some biscuits and gravy and a couple of strips of hot, sizzling bacon right about now," Cale said through a mouthful of apple. Taiven nodded his head and smiled. He knew that Cale couldn't be mad at him for very long.

_If all goes well, we'll be in Furnost by tomorrow morning and you can have just that at one of the Inns,_ he replied. They rode in silence for the remainder of the morning. When the sun was in its highest place in the sky, they rested for lunch. Taiven fed and watered the horses first and then sat down across from Cale to eat.

"Hey, Taiven," Cale began. Taiven's eyes met Cale's to let him know he was listening. "How are we getting through Furnost without any of the guards recognizing you?"

_I've been trying to come up with an answer for that, but nothing worth doing seems to come to me._

"What do you mean by 'worth doing'."

_Well, I've thought of a couple ways, but I'm sure that they won't work._

"Really? Like what?"

_One way was to just keep our hoods over our heads and hide our faces, but I'm sure we'll look suspicious and eventually be asked to take them off by a soldier, which is the last thing we want._ Cale nodded his head in agreement. They finished eating and packed up their things to continue their journey.

"We could go in from the back of the city and just lay low," Cale offered.

_Yeah, I thought of that too; but sooner or later we'll have to check into an Inn if we want a good, square meal and a place to sleep, and there's bound to be soldiers screening the guests._

"I don't need a good meal or a mattress if not having them gets us through the city without being caught," Cale said, though Taiven could sense that he really wanted them. Taiven smiled.

_That's really good of you, Cale, but not necessary. The whole point of us going into Furnost is to replenish our supplies, and I'm sure there will be soldiers parading around the shops as well as the Inns. What we _need_ is a disguise, but I can't seem to think of one that will work._ He scratched his chin, which felt a little rough from not shaving since his escape. Then an idea came to him. He halted his horse, reached behind him into a saddlebag and drew out his sword, studying his reflection in the mirror-like blade.

"What are you doing?" Cale asked with a raised eyebrow.

_Imagining myself with a beard._

"You can't grow a beard in the short amount of time we have, can you?"

_Of course not, but I can make it look like I have one without actually growing one._

"How are you going to do that?"

_Watch,_ was his simple reply. He dismounted with his sword still in hand and made his way to the rear of his horse. Its long, black tail swished nervously as though the horse knew what he was about to do. Taiven grabbed the tail from the end and cut some of the hair off. He only needed a few inches. Plus, any more than that would look too unusual for the length of a horse's tail. Closing his eyes to concentrate, he used a spell to attach the hair to his face. Once the spell was finished, Cale burst out laughing. Taiven raised his sword to see the outcome. The sight made him drop the weapon in shock – three-inch-long horse hair had attached itself all over his face. He picked his sword up and looked again. _It _is _actually kind of funny,_ he thought as he laughed along with Cale. Then, he used a spell to remove the hair.

_Perhaps I should specify which part of my face I want the hair to be,_ he thought to Cale.

"Yeah, and it would probably look better, too," said Cale, who was wiping tears from his eyes.

_It really wasn't that funny,_ Taiven replied defensively. Cale hid a smile behind his hand. Taiven concentrated on the spell and then felt the hair attach itself to the lower half of his face. Cale cocked his head to one side.

"I don't know, Taiven; it doesn't really look right," he said. "It's like there isn't enough hair for a full beard, or something. And it's too straight. Most beards kind of curl a little."

_Yeah, you're right,_ Taiven replied, looking at himself in the sword. The hair was in the right spot this time, but it had tiny bare patches in places. _It _does_ look kind of fake . . . and weird. Maybe I should try a goatee instead._ Taiven removed the hair and concentrated on the spell, feeling the hair join his face once again. He reached for his sword.

"Well, it doesn't have any gaps, but it's still too straight," Cale commented. Taiven nodded and bit his lip in thought.

_What if I braided it?_ he asked. Cale shrugged his shoulders. _Here, hold this,_ Taiven said, handing the sword to the boy. Cale took it and tried to hold it as steady as possible so Taiven could see what he was doing. _There. What do you think?_

"I think you should have a little bit of a mustache to go with it."

Taiven looked back at his reflection. _Hmm . . . maybe. _He gathered a bit more hair from his horse and once again concentrated on a spell to attach it. Then, he trimmed the hair to where it settled just above the line of his upper lip. He showed Cale the result.

"Wow, Taiven. It actually doesn't look half bad. I barely recognize you," Cale replied. "So, what about my disguise? I can't really have any facial hair, since I am only nine years old. That would look way too strange."

_I wouldn't give you facial hair, Cale,_ Taiven replied in a humorous tone. He thought about what he _could_ do; although, nothing came to mind. Then he figured, _Maybe you don't really need one. I don't even think Galbatorix knows that you are with me. He probably thinks I'm traveling alone._

"Well, okay. I really hope you're right, Taiven."

The afternoon passed quickly with them joking around and talking. Taiven eventually stopped his horse and dismounted. He began to gather the brush and twigs that were scattered around to build a fire. Cale went over to help. Once the fire was made, Taiven unbound the saddles from the horses and extracted the two swords again. He turned to Cale.

_So, would your anger resurface if we tried sparring again tonight? _Taiven asked, smirking. He held Cale's sword out to him. The boy stared at it for about a minute and then hesitantly took the sword, belting it on his waist.

_This time don't budge until I make the first move,_ Taiven told him.

They stayed in their poses with their swords drawn, watching each other intensely and barely making any movement. Finally, Taiven rushed forward, bringing his blade down upon Cale's left knee only to be blocked by the sheath of Cale's sword. The boy's own blade was aimed for Taiven's unguarded side. The teenager whipped his arm around his back and blocked the blow with his sword, while Cale threw a left handed punch to Taiven's jaw. Taiven turned his head just enough for the punch to miss, feeling Cale's fist graze his skin.

Taiven backed away from him, a smile playing on his lips. _Nice try._

Cale's eyes sparkled with excitement. He spun his sword in his hand and waited for Taiven to strike again. The teenager came forward slower this time. Cale met him in the middle, and the sound of metal on metal rang out through the night as one blow after another was blocked. Taiven could feel Cale's energy dissipating with each swing and decided to end the fight. He blocked Cale's sword quite forcefully, which knocked the boy off-balance, and then brought his sword down upon Cale. Taiven watched with astonishment as the boy ducked and rolled forward to escape the blow. The teenager followed him, and Cale turned to face Taiven's blade pointed at his chest. Taiven looked at him with a small grin upon his face. Both of them were panting from their battle.

_That was _much_ better, Cale! _

"But I didn't beat you," he said glumly. He sheathed his blade and sat on the ground by the fire.

_No, but you _are _learning very fast. I won't be surprised if you _do_ triumph over me at least once before our journey ends._

Cale shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe," he replied in the same glum tone. Taiven sat down next to him, giving him some dried meat and a couple raw vegetables for their dinner. When they finished, Taiven unrolled his bed.

_Well, we better get some sleep. By midmorning tomorrow, we'll be in Furnost._

……………

_Stay close by my side, Cale. I don't know my way around this city very well, and I don't want us to get separated._ Cale nodded in agreement. They arrived within the city only a short while ago and were now headed for a small Inn that Taiven knew of from his visits to the city with the military. They passed by loads of shops with merchants outside yelling for people to buy their products. A few yards ahead, Taiven spotted their first soldier.

_There's a soldier by that welding shop on the right, Cale. Act as though you're interested in the shop across from him and try not to look at him, but do it casually. We don't want to look suspicious._

Cale did as he was told, while Taiven nonchalantly glanced in the soldier's direction, noticing the mistrustful look in the man's eyes. Taiven inclined his head to him in a friendly manner and gradually focused his attention to another shop as though interested in it. The soldier didn't stop them and once he and Cale were several feet away, Taiven let out the breath he had unconsciously been holding. _One down,_ he thought to himself.

They made their way up a street where there were houses instead of shops. Cale turned to Taiven. "I feel like I've been here before."

_I thought you were born and raised in Urû'baen and have never been anywhere else?_

"That's what my mother has always told me, but I . . . I don't know. This street seems so familiar."

_It's also too narrow for us to travel side-by-side, and I think it's best if we walk our horses through here. When you dismount, you go first. That way I have a better view of you if anything happens._

They walked on for a bit, and all the while, Taiven noticed a difference in Cale's demeanor. He seemed conscious about everything around him and even stopped a couple times for a few seconds as though reminiscing upon old memories, which Taiven thought ridiculous since the boy said he'd never been here before now.

A little farther up the road, three women stood just outside one of the houses, talking amongst themselves in hushed voices. Their dresses were designed in a pattern Taiven recognized as what women of a group of people who make their living by telling fortunes would wear. He watched closely as Cale stared at them while he passed. One of the women gently grabbed Cale by his arm. Cale stopped and looked up at her curiously while she gazed down at him with perceptive eyes.

"Tell me, Child," she said in a kind voice. "What is your mother's name?" Cale glanced at Taiven, who tied his horse's reins to the saddle of Cale's horse to join them.

_Is she hurting you, Cale?_ Taiven asked, and for the first time, he heard Cale's response in his head.

_No; she only wants to know my mother's name. She seems so familiar that I don't want to lie to her._

_Well, hold on before you say anything. I want to check her out first._ Taiven surveyed the woman, believing her to be in her early thirties. As lock of her thick, chestnut colored hair fell into her face, Taiven took advantage of the distraction and gradually slipped into her mind. Strong barriers shot up at once, and the woman's deep, blue eyes flashed in his direction.

"I'm only inquiring about his mother's name. What do you two have to hide?" she asked smoothly.

_Tell her that we can ask her the same question,_ he thought to Cale. Taiven watched as the boy's face contorted in confusion, but he passed on the message anyway. Her gaze shifted between the two.

"What? Can he not speak?" she asked Cale. Cale shook his head. She sighed. "Okay look, I realize that these are hard times and no one can really trust anyone, which I know is why you tried to probe my mind, but I can assure you that I mean you no harm. All I want to know is the name of the boy's mother, not his own name. If it doesn't turn out to be the name I'm looking for, then I'll leave you at once." Taiven studied her. She didn't really seem like one who would deceive them. He made up his mind.

_All right, fine. Go ahead and tell her if you want to,_ he thought to Cale.

"Her name was Alaena," he said shyly. The woman's eyes glistened with tears. Both of the boys looked at her awkwardly.

"And . . . and are you Cale?" she asked. Cale's jaw dropped. He slowly nodded his head.

After a moment, he whispered, "Who _are_ you?"

"Well, I'm . . . I'm your aunt," she said, smiling as tears lined her cheeks. The boy looked at her with wide eyes.

"My . . . what?" he asked in astonishment.

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Cliffhanger!! Muahahahaha! Okay, so that's Chapter Five. It's my longest chapter yet. Granted, it does have some useless banter between Taiven and Cale that I guess could be omitted, but it was to show the type of brotherly relationship the boys have. I'm not really sure how well I did those dialogues though, since I'm not a brother myself. But, I do have one. Does that count. :D 

So, I'm hoping it won't take me near as long to post Chapter Six, since school is now over and all I have to think about is work.

Anyway, I hope you liked it! Review! Review! Review!


	6. Chapter Six

Thanks to all of my reviewers!

Disclaimer: See _Chapter One

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_

_Chapter Six_

The woman smiled at Cale, who stared back in shock. "I'm your aunt," she repeated. Cale finally found his voice.

"No. I'm sorry, but that's impossible," he said firmly. The woman looked a little hurt by his abruptness. "My mother never mentioned anything about her family, least of all a sister."

"She was still so mad at me that she never even mentioned me to my own nephew," she said more to herself. Cale looked at her, confusion in his face yet again. She noticed his look of incomprehension and realized that she had said it aloud. "We got into a _bit_ of a disagreement about something I saw when you were too young to remember me," she explained.

"Something you saw? What do you mean?" She glanced down the street, pausing slightly. Taiven and Cale looked too and found a dark figure walking up the far end of the street. A step closer brought him into the light, and the boys recognized him as one of the King's soldiers.

"It really isn't safe to talk out here. If you don't trust me, I understand, but I really wish you'll give me a chance to explain," she pleaded. Cale glanced at Taiven, his eyes in askance of what they should do.

_It's up to you, Cale,_ he told him. The boy scrunched up his face in thought. He stared into the woman's hopeful face.

"Our horses need a place where they'll be safe, too," he said. A relieved smile graced her lips and she nodded.

"There's a stable around the corner. I'll lead you there." She turned, pulling out a small ring of keys to lock her door, and then led them to a sturdy double-gate with a huge padlock, which she pulled out a separate ring of keys to unlock it.

"What's with all the locks?" Cale asked. Her face hardened.

"This used to be a good neighborhood – until Galbatorix's soldiers showed up and began prying into our lives and stealing our possessions." When she opened the gate and light flooded the inside, the first thing they noticed was that the stable was only big enough to hold two, maybe three horses. The other thing they noticed was its lack of occupants. "I _used_ to have a gorgeous strawberry roan," she began as if reading their minds. "Her name was Sunrise. But she was taken from me, as well as her saddle and a few bags of grain." Cale looked appalled, while Taiven shook his head in disgust. "I saw a rather pompous looking soldier riding her not a day after, but what was I to do about it? . . . I needed her, not only because I travel a lot and very long distances, but also because she was my friend, my companion, you know?" She turned her head to wipe her tears and sniffed. "Anyway, they'll be safe in here since I began locking it with this." She held up the massive lock.

Once the horses were settled and the saddlebags were put off to the side – all except for one, which Taiven smuggled under his cloak – she locked the gate and led them back to her house. The boys were told to make themselves comfortable in the nice sized living room while she went into the kitchen for refreshments. Taiven was pondering something she had said earlier that didn't quite make sense to him. When she returned, Taiven prodded Cale.

_Cale, ask her how long the soldiers have been here._ Cale passed on the question.

"Oh, about several months; ever since Galbatorix found out about that Rider who slipped through his fingers. They left for that huge battle on the Burning Plains, and we all hoped that they wouldn't return. And they didn't for about a week and a half, but then here they are again, tormenting people and being more suspicious of everyone than before."

Taiven and Cale glanced at each other, knowing that it was their fault that the soldiers were back. Her answer quieted his mind though, since he thought the soldiers only arrived days before and wondered how a neighborhood could become so corrupted by the soldiers' crimes in a few short days.

Suddenly, Cale blushed as he realized something. He spoke shyly as he said, "You know, in our entire conversation so far, I still don't even know your name."

She smiled warmly at him. "My name's Loralynn." Cale returned the smile. She continued, "And to answer your question from earlier, about what I meant when I said 'something I saw'; I inherited the gift of foresight from my mother, though hers was more powerful by far." She paused for a moment, staring into the glass of water she held in her hand.

"We were always arguing, Alaena and I," she began. "but after every argument, we always seemed to make up and forget about it. . . . This last time was different. We had just gotten over a fight but hadn't apologized yet, since she stormed off, saying that she needed to get you home. You were only about four years old at the time, but I knew that it was just an excuse to get away from me. I let her cool down, and then I remembered knocking on her door to apologize. She opened it to embrace me, saying that she was sorry. With our emotions flaring and the hug we shared, it was then when I foresaw the awful truth – I saw Alaena's death.

"I foolishly told her this and she became extremely upset, which led to our last and biggest disagreement. She called me a fake, because I never really had as much power as my mother. I can only see minutes, hours, or sometimes days into the future. Only once in a very rare while can I see months or years ahead, and she knew that, which was probably why she didn't believe me. I stubbornly stuck by my premonition. I knew what I saw was true; though, _I_ didn't want to believe it myself. She drove me crazy and we could never agree on anything, but I loved my sister. I couldn't bear the thought of her not being alive, not being able to argue with me anymore. Anyway, she slammed the door in my face, and two days later, she left Furnost. I never saw her again."

They were silent for a while. Then, Cale changed the subject. "I lived here until I was four? I was born in Furnost?"

She nodded. "In fact, you were born in this house, and you grew up here too. It was our parents' given to Alaena for her to have a sturdy home to raise you. They figured that they wouldn't have any use for the house with their traveling everywhere. Then, when Alaena and you left, I moved in."

"I can't believe my mom lied to me about all this stuff. Did my dad really die in a battle?"

"Yes, he did. Alaena was devastated, especially with you due not long after. But, Cale, there is something I need to discuss with you" – She glanced at Taiven – "_alone._"

"We don't have any secrets," Cale replied. Taiven shifted slightly, brushing his hand against the hidden egg in his lap, but the motion went unnoticed. "He might as well stay; it will save me the trouble of telling him everything later."

She seemed uneasy with his answer and responded with, "Our conversation entails the" – she paused as though searching for the right word – "the small trinket Alaena gave you before she died."

"You mean the crystal? Taiven already knows about that." He looked sheepishly into her slightly shocked face. "I put it over his neck to save his life," Cale explained in a small voice.

"Cale," she began in a lecturing tone, "no one out of the family is supposed to know about it. It's extremely valuable."

Cale looked at her, bewildered. "How so?" he asked. She glanced at Taiven. "Go on," Cale insisted. "I trust Taiven with my life."

Defeated, she replied, "The crystal has been passed down from generation to generation – how many exactly, I know not. Our family was hand picked by Vrael himself to guard the crystal. My father, your mother, and now you are the guardians of what is said to be a very important key, destined for the person that the sapphire blue egg hatched for. The same blue egg that has been exchanged between the Varden and the elves for more than sixty years." Cale sat back in his seat, his face in awe. Taiven prodded him.

_Ask her if she means Eragon and his blue dragon._ Cale passed on the question.

"They are exactly who I'm speaking of." Taiven's expression was pensive. She continued, "The crystal was bound with the magic of five great wizards to guard the crystal and its protector from harm." Cale was silent, staring at his shoes but not really seeing them. Loralynn gently tapped his shoulder. "Cale? What's wrong?"

"It's my fault my mother's gone," he said thickly, still staring at his shoes.

"Of course not, Cale. How could you say that?"

"Don't you see?" he said harshly at his shoes. "She gave me the crystal the night before she died. If I didn't have it, she would probably be sitting next to me right now!"

"No, Cale." Her voice was firm. "Her death was inevitable. You" – she grasped his chin to make him look at her – "had _nothing_ to do with it. Do you understand me?" Tears steadily streamed down his cheeks. He gave an awkward nod as she still had a hold on his chin. She let go, and he hid his face to wipe his tears away. Minutes passed in silence until Cale was finally ready to speak again.

"So, uh, what do you mean by the crystal being a 'key'?" Cale asked. Loralynn shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm really not sure. All I know is that it's supposed to help Eragon with opening the Vault of Souls."

"Help him? In what way?" She shrugged her shoulders a second time. "Well, why me?"

"Guardianship is passed to the eldest child. Alaena was older than me, and so when she died, it was passed to you."

"What about your dad? Can't he take it back?" He watched as her eyes glistened.

"Oh, Cale," she said softly. "My parents were caught in the middle of an unfortunate struggle between a group of traders and some bandits two years ago. You're my only living relative, sweet."

"Oh. I . . . I'm sorry." He was silent for a minute until, "But you're older than me. Why don't you take it?" She smiled.

"It was never meant for me to have. My gift and burden was already inherited to me by my mother. The crystal is your responsibility, Cale. You need to embrace your destiny."

"My destiny? What are you talking about? . . . Wait, have you seen something that you're not telling me?" Loralynn gave him a knowing smile.

"Fate works in mysterious ways, Cale. Find Eragon first, and then from there, who knows what will happen?"

"I bet you do," he under his breath. Taiven prodded Cale for a third time. Cale shook his head.

_No, Taiven. It's none of your business._

_I don't care. I'd ask her but I can't, so you're going to have to be my voice._

_I really don't want to, Taiven_, he whined.

_Will you just ask her!_ Cale glared at him but finally turned to Loralynn, who looked a little confused about what went on between the two as Cale was now in a sullen mood.

"Taiven would like to know how you learned to block your mind with such force," he said moodily. Then he added, "I told him it was none of his business."

Loralynn smiled. "It's okay." She turned to Taiven. "My father was a great teacher. He taught both me and my sister, saying that our minds were sacred and that no one should be allowed access to it without our permission." Taiven nodded his head.

"He says that your father – or, my grandfather? Well, he was very clever," Cale said awkwardly.

"Thank you," she said with sincerity. Taiven gave her a warm smile. Then he stood.

"We really must be going," Cale said. "We still need to check into an inn and it's getting late."

"Oh don't be silly. You can stay here for the night. Your horses are already settled and there are two spare bedrooms upstairs."

"We really wouldn't want to intrude."

"Intrude? Are you kidding? I haven't seen you since you were four years old. My own nephew. I'd be offended if you didn't stay."

"Well, thank you. Thank you very much."

Loralynn showed them to their bedrooms and they were in bed in no time, completely exhausted by the day's events. Taiven was just about to fall into a deep sleep when a voice interrupted him.

"Psst! Taiven? Are you asleep?" whispered Cale next to his ear. He pried one eye open to look into the boy's face, highlighted by the moon's soft light through his window.

_Not anymore._ He sat up, rubbing his tired eyes.

Cale sat on the side of his bed. "I was thinking . . ."

_Can it wait until tomorrow?_

"No, because I need to know what to do," he said condescendingly.

_Fine. Then spit it out._

"What do we do if a soldier stops us?"

Taiven sighed, wanting to go to sleep, but he eventually came up with an alias for both of them and a story explaining his lack of speech. He didn't let Cale or himself sleep until the boy recited it perfectly and believably, since their lives could depend on it.

The next morning they awoke to the pleasing smell of sausages. Cale was ecstatic and leapt out of bed. Taiven descended the stairs to see a plate loaded with biscuits and gravy, three sausage patties, and a couple strips of bacon before Cale, who was shoveling it in like he hadn't eaten in days. Taiven smiled to himself and shook his head. He took a seat next to Cale.

Once they were done eating, they left Loralynn's and went around the city, gathering their supplies. Taiven passed the money to Cale, who bought everything since Taiven couldn't speak. Luckily, not one soldier stopped them, though Taiven could imagine how suspicious they looked. When they finished all of their shopping, they went back to Loralynn's stable (she had given them the keys earlier) and packed everything in the saddlebags.

_Well, time to go_, Taiven told Cale. Loralynn met them as they led their horses out of the stable. She embraced Cale.

"Be safe," she whispered. Cale smiled and followed Taiven. He turned and waved until he could no longer see her.

Not five minutes from Loralynn's, they ran into their worst fear – a soldier blocking their path. They tried to casually sneak by, but he called them back.

"Hey, hold up there. Who are you two and what's your business?" the soldier asked. Cale looked at Taiven.

_Go ahead._

Cale cleared his throat. "I'm Liam, and this here is my brother Grant. We're visiting some relatives," Cale replied. The soldier eyed him suspiciously.

"Why is the younger brother talking for the older?"

"Well you see, sir, my brother is mute."

"Is that by choice or disability?" he asked, saying the last word in a knowing tone. Cale gave a fleeting look toward Taiven.

_Don't panic,_ Taiven told him. _Just tell him what we practiced last night;_ a_nd try to talk to him casually._

"By choice, of course. I don't even know what that other word means," said Cale with a toothy grin. The soldier's eyes traveled to Taiven and then back to Cale.

"So he _could_ talk if he wanted to." Cale shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess so, sir. _I've_ never heard him talk in all the years I've known him, which is all my life, because the horrible tragedy that made him stop talking happened when I was just a baby." The soldier narrowed his eyes at the two as though not believing a word of their story.

"And what was this 'horrible tragedy'?"

"Well," Cale began in a solemn tone. "Supposedly I had another brother, who was Grant's twin so you could imagine how close they were. Anyway, some urgals raided our small town and Grant had the misfortune of watching our brother butchered by one of those monsters." Taiven bowed his head and even managed a few tears. Cale watched as the soldier's eyes soften. He nodded his head in understanding.

"Those brutes killed my brother, too," he said in a half whisper. "I'm, uh, I'm sorry I made you bring that up. You see, we're looking for a dangerous character and maybe another fugitive who's traveling with him. The boy can't talk because he got it cut off for lying to the King."

Taiven and Cale looked appalled. "Really? How dare he! Serves him right, I say." Taiven firmly nodded his head. The soldier agreed. Cale continued, "I'm sure you'll catch him, sir. You seem like just the man to do it." Flattered, the soldier grinned and straightened to make himself look taller. Cale stifled a laugh while Taiven tried hard not to roll his eyes.

"Well, unless you need us for anything else, we really must be going."

"Oh. Yeah, o' course," he said, letting them by.

When the boys were out of the soldier's sight, they both let out breaths they had been holding.

"That was a close one!"

_I know. I was just waiting for him to tell me to open my mouth to see if it was severed or not, and then it'd be the end of the road for us._

"Yeah. We were lucky." Taiven agreed.

Once they were out of the city, Taiven felt like he could breathe easily again. The sun was bright and not one cloud dotted the sky.

After a couple of miles, Taiven grinned as he told Cale, _By the way, I left some money for your aunt. I knew she wouldn't take it, so I set it on my bed with a note of our gratitude. There's enough in the pouch for her to buy another horse._

"Oh wow, Taiven! That's really – you're the best!" exclaimed Cale, making Taiven's smile widen.

The boys talked and joked while the sun rose higher and higher. Around noon, they decided to stop to eat. Taiven was about to dismount when a loud screech filled the sky. His blood ran cold.

Suddenly, a shadow covered the sun for a split second. Taiven's heart jumped in his throat, and he whipped his head toward the sky, his eyes widening in horror. Above flew the Lethrblaka with the Ra'zac on their backs. He had seen them at the castle a couple of times, conversing with his father about the new Rider, Eragon, and his cousin. Both of the boys seemed to slip right through the creatures' claws, which Taiven found rather amusing. He did not find the Ra'zac the least bit funny now, though.

"Oh no! Taiven, what do we do?" Cale shouted, his voice full of panic.

_Follow me, and hurry!_ Taiven surged his horse forward, knowing that it was pointless to try to outrun the Lethrblaka, but they had to try. It was also impossible to hide from them as the desert had nothing but sand dunes for protection. Within no time, the Ra'zac were upon them – one on each side of the boys and their horses. They each drew their dark swords and plunged them into the sides of the boy's horses. The animals dropped to the ground, flinging the boys through the air. They landed several yards away, crying out in pain as they tumbled.

Taiven saw Cale hit his head quite forcefully on the ground and was motionless thereafter. He then watched as one of the Ra'zac grabbed Cale ruthlessly by his hair and set him over its mount. The other one came up behind Taiven and tried to do the same, but Taiven rolled out of its reach onto his feet and began to run. Although his body ached from the fall, he wasn't going to make his capture easy for the Ra'zac. His legs burned as he pounded across the road. He heard the Ra'zac yell in frustration and soon felt the Ra'zac's grotesque hand grasp his neck and squeeze. Taiven tripped over his feet, but running didn't matter anymore as the Ra'zac lifted him from the ground. He choked and gasped for air, clawing at the creature's hand with his nails. The Ra'zac only laughed. It was a horrid screeching sound that filled Taiven's head with ringing long after the creature stopped. He struggled a bit longer, kicking at the Lethrblaka and punching whatever he could come into contact with.

Finally having enough, the Ra'zac tightened its hold around Taiven's throat. He began to lose consciousness, but not before he watched the Lethrblaka circle around and pick up the lifeless horses before heading towards Urû'baen.

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Oh no! An evil cliffie! Ahahahahaha! .:clears throat:. Sorry. Hope you liked the chapter!

Review!


	7. Chapter Seven

Thanks to my reviewers! You all are awesome! And I'm so sorry for this unbelievably late update. I'm working on the next chapter, so I'm hoping to have it out soon. :)

Enjoy Chapter Seven!

Disclaimer: See _Chapter One

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_

_Chapter Seven_

Taiven awoke to find himself laying on a stone cold floor, listening to the whimpers of a small and frightened voice. The combined smell of stone, damp, mold, and rotted meat made his stomach churn. He opened his eyes to darkness, groaning as the blood pulsed painfully in his head. The whimpering stopped and was soon replaced by a voice he knew quite well.

"Taiven? Is that you?" a frightened Cale asked.

"Mm hmm," Taiven replied. He tried to open his mind to ask Cale a question, but his head felt fuzzy. _What's going on?_ he asked himself. He tried to reach for his magic and failed at that as well. Then, he heard Cale across from him, groping in the darkness to find him.

"I can't see a thing," he said, making Taiven jump slightly when the boy grabbed his foot. "Oh there you are." His voice was trembling. Taiven sat up and put his head in his hands. Cale sat beside him. "I don't know where we are; it smells horrible in here; it's too dark to see anything; and I'm scared, Taiven." Taiven blindly reached across to put his hand on Cale's shoulder to comfort him but found a head of hair instead. Cale managed a small giggle.

They sat in silence not knowing how long. Taiven was confused all the while, but why he didn't know. In fact, he didn't know anything at the moment and couldn't figure out why. His head felt fuzzy, and he grew frustrated at not knowing a simple thing like opening his mind to talk to Cale. Magic was his only defense, besides his sword, and it scared him that he couldn't find either. Giving up, he curled into a ball on the cold floor and fell into an uneasy sleep.

He felt Cale gently shaking him awake. After a few seconds, he realized that his head felt clearer and tried to open his mind again. He found Cale's conscious, feeling relieved.

_What happened, Cale? And where are we? This doesn't look like the castle dungeons._

"I don't know where we are," he repeated. "And how can you see anything? It's pitch black!"

_That is precisely what I mean. The dungeons actually have windows. Granted they're very small and have grid-like bars on them, but they still have windows; unlike this place._

"Oh. Okay; I get it."

_Was it difficult for you to think earlier, Cale?_ Taiven asked him suddenly.

"No. Why? What do you mean?"

_It was for me. My head felt fuzzy, and I couldn't reach out to you with my mind._

"No; I never felt that," Cale said. "But I wasn't thinkin' about much, anyway. I was too scared; I'm still scared. What's going to happen to us?"

_I don't know,_ Taiven answered honestly. Suddenly, a weak, female voice filled the silence.

"Will you please stop talking to yourself? This place is creepy enough without your crazy one-sided conversation." Both boys jumped. They would have exchanged confused glances, but they couldn't see each other.

"I'm not talking to myself!" Cale retorted in an offended manner. "My brother can't speak and he's talking to me through thought!"

"Oh. Sorry. I've been a prisoner here for so long, I had forgotten my manners."

"It's okay. Who are you, anyway?"

"My name is Katrina. What are your names?"

"I'm Cale, and my brother is Taiven."

_Cale! You gave away our real names?! What were you thinking?_

"Oh, oops."

_Oops? Oops! That's all you have to say for yourself?_

"I'm sorry, Taiven," he whispered. "I forgot. She doesn't seem so bad."

_How could you possibly know that? She could be working for them, feeding us this lie about being their prisoner, and then turning against us the moment we trust her!_

"What are you talking about?" he asked, still whispering. "They already know who we are; otherwise they wouldn't have captured us, right?"

_Yeah, but they don't know what we—_ Taiven's eyes grew wide. _The egg! Where's the egg?_ he thought frantically to himself. _Oh, no! It was with the horses in one of the saddlebags! Where are the horses?_

"Taiven!"

_What? Why are you shouting?_ he thought to Cale.

"I've called your name three times now."

_Oh, sorry._

"'They don't know what we' what?" he asked.

Thinking fast, Taiven answered with, _what we are capable of._

"If you two ignore me for one second longer," Katrina threatened unconvincingly. Then she mumbled. "I still don't even think there _are_ two of you."

Taiven closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then reached for the magic, thinking very hard of a spell. What felt like minutes later to him, a soft glow shone through his eyelids. He opened his eyes and saw orange flames in the palm of his hand. He looked around, noticing that their cell was small and could barely fit more than four people. He also noticed a tray of stale looking bread and a pitcher of water by the cell door. Cale's eyes were in awe of the fire.

"Wow, Taiven! That's so neat!" he exclaimed.

"Oh. So there _are_ two of you," Katrina said through the bars of her cell opposite theirs. Her voice seemed unimpressed with the magic fire Taiven held, but given her circumstances, Taiven hardly believed she'd be enthusiastic about anything right now. Her hands were chained against the wall above her head, and she looked weak and fragile. "Why aren't you two chained?"

They shrugged their shoulders. _She has quite a spirit for looking as she does._ Cale nodded his head in agreement. It was then that Taiven got a good look at Cale. He frowned, noticing the dried blood caked on the side of Cale's face from his forehead to his chin. A mass of it was in his hair, and the wound was still slowly trickling blood.

_Cale! Are you okay? Come here and let me heal that!_ Cale slid over to Taiven. The teenager ripped off the sleeve of his shirt, soaked it in the pitcher of water he saw earlier, and began to clean the blood off Cale's face. The wound wasn't very deep considering its length, and Taiven focused on the spell to heal it. Not being able to hold the magic for the fire _and_ heal Cale's cut, he placed a hand on Cale's head so as to find the wound when the light went out. Then, he let go of the magic for the fire. It went out in a puff of orange smoke. He felt for Cale's forehead and healed the wound; though not very well, since he felt an inch long scar where the cut used to be. Taiven was breathing heavily. _I'm sorry I can't do better, Cale. I don't have enough energy. . . How could you not feel this?_

"I could, but I wasn't going to complain about it. You taught me to be tough, not whine because I had a little scrape."

_That is the most stupid thing I've ever heard you say._

"What?" Cale asked, affronted.

_I never taught you to disregard your health._

"It's a small cut!" he shouted. "It wasn't like I could bleed to death from it!"

_It doesn't matter how big it is! What do you think would have happened if it was infected?_

"Oh," Cale said defeated. "I didn't really think of that."

They were silent for a while. Taiven was still upset with Cale but thought to him, _I think I know where we are._

"Really? Where?"

_I think we're in Helgrind . . . but why would the Ra'zac bring us here and not straight to the King? It doesn't make any sense._ Then he thought to himself, _Especially when I'm pretty sure that they realized I had the third dragon egg._

"Let's ask Katrina where we are. Maybe she'll know," Cale suggested.

_All right. Go ahead._

"Excuse me? Katrina? Do you know where we are?"

"No. I'm sorry; I don't. They took me in the dark, and I've never heard them mention anything worth knowing in front of me. They're real careful about that. Why, I don't know. It isn't like I can run away and tell someone."

_Well her answer was enormously valued,_ Taiven said sarcastically. Then he suddenly felt an elbow in his chest. _Ouch!_

"Well! Be nice!" Cale hissed.

_She can't even hear me._ Cale ignored him.

"Were you always here alone?"

"No. My father was with me at first, but those monsters grew tired of his persistent pleading to let me go. Then, one day, he was gone. I haven't seen him for a long time," she said in a low voice.

"Why wouldn't they let you go? Why did they take you to begin with?" Cale asked.

"Well, first they wanted my fiancé to get to Eragon, who is rumored to be a Dragon Rider. But now they also want him because of the brutal fight he led against the King's soldiers. They captured me to lure him."

"Oh; so you're just stuck in the middle of all this," Cale said.

"Yes, unfortunately, but I know Roran is doing all he can to rescue me. That is, unless he's already been captured. I don't see how anyone could escape under the King's watchful eyes, especially one as valued as Roran seems to be," she said.

"We escaped from the palace, me and Taiven. We were chased by some of the King's soldiers, too, and still got away. Even the King had a hold of Taiven at one point until—ouch! What was _that_ for?!" Cale yelled at Taiven, who had kicked him.

_Shut your trap! She already knows too much,_ Taiven hissed.

"Until what?" Katrina asked.

"Nothing," replied Cale in a defeated tone.

"Who are you two? One of you can do magic, and you both escaped from the palace under the King's nose? No wonder those monsters have you here."

_Tell her that we're just servants who had had enough of the King and his madness,_ Taiven told him, and Cale repeated it.

"Servants can't do magic," she said.

"Taiven says that it's none of your business why he can do magic and that you're" – Cale sighed – "you're quite brash for a girl in your situation," Cale said hesitantly.

"Is that so?" she replied through her teeth. "Well, he can—" She was cut off by a loud screech that resounded off the walls followed by an even louder roar of some huge beast.

"What was that?" Katrina said, curiosity replacing her anger.

Taiven focused on the magic and unlocked the door of his cell. It opened with a soft click, which echoed in the dark. He heard the boy get up to follow him. _Stay here, Cale._

"What?!"

_I mean it, Cale._

"Fine," he said not bothering to hold back the anger in his voice.

"What are you two doing? What's going on?!" she demanded.

Taiven ignored her and ventured into the darkness, careful not to attract any danger toward himself. It didn't work. He forgot that the Ra'zac could see in the dark.

"What are you doing out of your cell, boy?" it hissed. Taiven felt the grotesque hand of the Ra'zac hit him hard across his face. He fell to the floor slightly dizzy. Then it picked him up by the collar of his shirt and dragged him back to his cell, throwing him inside. It stayed to stand guard of the three.

"Back so soon?" Cale said sarcastically.

_Shut up._

Whatever went on beyond his chamber, he couldn't tell, but he could hear everything, which made it much more confusing. He had a feeling that the roars resounding off the walls came from a dragon, and since they obviously weren't Murtagh's dragon fighting the Ra'zac, Eragon must be here. As if on cue, a male voice shouted the name of the Blue Rider, confirming Taiven's theory. Unfortunately, the shout sounded concerned, and Taiven wasn't sure that the boy and his dragon was enough to defeat the Ra'zac. The one who was standing guard of their cells took off in the direction of the shout, no doubt expecting to feast on the presumed fallen Rider.

Taiven decided to try his spell again and succeeded once more. This time, however, he also held the ball of fire in his palm, racing down the hall, away from the battle, to find his saddlebags. Minutes passed as he ran further into the foreboding passageway with no luck in finding a turning point. Then, when he was just about to give up and turn around, he spotted a slight glint just a little ways ahead. Hoping that it was his sword, he bolted forward only to find a soldier's helmet. He kicked it in frustration down the way he came and then regretted it immediately after, as it made a huge clatter through the hall. His fire went out in a puff of smoke just as he heard one of the Ra'zac, or maybe even a Lethrblaka, swiftly making its way toward him.

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I know, I know, 'not another cliffhanger!' And I'm sorry (yeah, not really), but this time it won't take me more than a month to update again. :) 

REVIEW!!!


	8. Chapter Eight

Disclaimer: See _Chapter One_

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_Chapter Eight_

Frozen in fear and not being able to see a thing, Taiven heard the creature advancing on him. Finally retaining the use of his legs, he backed up out of instinct, expecting to run into the wall. Instead, to his astonishment, he went _through_ the wall into a dimly lit cave full of piles of soldier's swords and armor, people's clothes and other material objects, and the most sickening of all: the bones of those people stripped clean. Taiven wrinkled his nose in disgust. Then, he heard the creature not far behind him, and he dove under one of the piles, hoping that the smell of the dead would drown out his own scent.

He tried not to breathe since a moving pile might be a little suspicious, not to mention, the smell was enormously sickening. Taiven could only see bits and pieces of the room from in the pile, but it was enough to recognize the creature as one of the Lethrblaka. He watched in horror as it repeatedly thrust its seven foot long beak into the many other piles scattered about the room.

_Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to hide here after all,_ he thought.

He tried to quickly think of a spell that would either help him in his situation, or protect him from it, but as the Lethrblaka drew ever closer to his pile, it became more and more difficult to think of anything, much less a spell. Finally, the creature came to his pile and it jabbed its beak mercilessly into it. Taiven shut his eyes and held his breath so as not to utter a sound and give away his hiding place, but, despite what he wanted to believe, his action was _really_ so that he wouldn't scream, since his fear was increasing by the moment.

However, to his immense surprise, each vicious stab the Lethrblaka made missed him entirely. It came frighteningly close once, though, yet didn't even graze him. Thankful and with his heart pounding painfully in his throat, he waited for what felt like hours while the creature jabbed every single pile. At long last, the Lethrblaka grew bored and disappeared through the wall and back down the passageway.

Taiven almost jumped out from under the pile. The smell was absolutely unbearable. He looked around the room. Many things caught his eye, but none of them were of his saddle. Giving up, he walked over to the opposite side of the room, away from the tunnel the Lethrblaka left through. Then, he remembered who was still at the other end of the tunnel and opened his mind.

_Cale? Are you still okay?_

_Yeah! You should see these three, Taiven! They already took out a Ra'zac and a Lethrblaka! Saphira flamed one of them and Eragon shot an arrow between its eyes, and the other was taken down by a hammer right in the head! The other Lethrblaka took off after you, but I now know that you're okay._

_Yeah, about that. It went back through the passageway, so watch out for it._

_Okay. What are you doing, anyway?_

_Looking for a safe way out,_ Taiven lied. Then he thought of something. _Hey, Cale? What happened to the other Ra'zac?_

_Oh, we don't know. I think it may have run after the Lethrblaka that followed you, but we weren't sure._

_What?!_ Taiven began to panic. He didn't expect _two_ of the creatures coming after him. As if on cue, he heard heavy footsteps running through the passageway. Taiven was just about to jump into the pile again when the dark figure of the Ra'zac appeared out of the tunnel. The creature saw him at once, being able to see perfectly in the dim light, and slowly advanced toward him.

_Cale, whatever happens, go with Eragon. He'll protect you._

_Taiven? _The boy sounded frightened. _What are you talking about?_

_The other Ra'zac found me and is almost upon me. . . . I don't think I'm going to be able to get out of this one._

_He won't kill you though, right? He – he needs to bring you back to the King, right? Taiven?_

_Let's hope so,_ he replied, and then his connection with Cale was severed. He felt a domineering power fall over his mind. He struggled to move, but its force was keeping him immobile.

"What are you doing out of your cell?" the Ra'zac hissed menacingly. Taiven realized that even if he was capable of speaking, he probably couldn't out of fear anyway. His silence appeared to anger the creature as it shouted, "I asked you a question, boy!"

How exactly was he supposed to tell the creature anything when he couldn't speak? As it drew closer to him, Taiven desperately struggled to move his feet with no avail. It drew its sword and advanced rapidly. Taiven tightly closed his eyes and cowered under the gesture, yet it didn't come. When he opened his eyes, he found the creature about a foot away from him. Its arms were at its sides (with its blade still in hand) and it appeared as though it was sneering. Of course, Taiven couldn't really tell by its face, since its beak wasn't much of a tool for expressing what a sneer would look like and its eyes were like two black holes. However, when it spoke, there was a definite sense of amusement in its creepy voice.

"I'm not going to kill you, however much I'd love to. For sssome odd reason, the king wantsss you alive. . . . Although," it said, raising its sword, "perhapsss he won't mind a sssmall consolation prize for our effortsss."

The blade rested on his arm. Taiven shook his head, his eyes begging for it not to, but the creature didn't take any notice of his inaudible pleading. He saw the Ra'zac raise its sword. His heartbeat increased, making his chest heave uncomfortably. With his eyes wide in fear, he watched the blade swing down – and then the creature's hand faltered. It held the sword in mid-swing for several seconds. Confusion soon overtook Taiven's fear as he couldn't make out why it stopped. He searched the creature for a clue. Then, he saw it. Sticking out of the creature's stomach was the tip of a blade.

Once the shock wore off, the Ra'zac spun around angrily and Taiven got a good look at his rescuer. His jaw dropped. _What?!_ A boy of ten with brown hair looked at Taiven with as much astonishment in his green eyes for what he had done as Taiven had in his dark ones. _Cale?!_ The boy gave him an awkward smile and then focused his attention on the issue at hand.

The creature, not being able to grab a hold of the boy as he still held on to the handle of the sword, spun around which knocked Cale into Taiven and the two tumbled to the ground, relieving Taiven of the mental force he was under. It then began to pull the sword out inch by inch, wincing in pain with each new movement. The boys were so amazed that the creature was pulling the sword out (as they expected it to die after being stabbed in such a vital organ) that they lay motionless in the positions they fell in and just watched the process.

When the Ra'zac finally pulled the sword from its stomach, it raised the blade and brought it down upon the two. Taiven flung himself over Cale so he would receive the full force of the blow and not his friend, yet for a second time within a half an hour, it didn't come. A green tinted barrier sprung up around them, making the blade snap into three pieces on contact.

Then, once the danger subsided, it retracted itself back into the crystal around Cale's neck. Taiven recalled about what the boy had said about the crystal protecting him from harm. He smiled to himself as the Ra'zac clicked angrily in its own language, no doubt frustrated. He had wondered why the Ra'zac left Cale unharmed, as he was certain that Galbatorix wouldn't care less if they made a meal of Taiven's accomplice, but he now realized that they couldn't harm him even if they wanted to. As to why they just didn't release him, they were very cunning creatures and probably figured that Cale's crystal was most definitely something the twisted king would want.

Taiven looked back at Cale only to discover that the boy lay unconscious. The force field that the crystal had formed around them must have taken quite a bit of his energy. He was still breathing, though, and that was all that mattered.

The Ra'zac, most likely extremely livid by now, advanced on the two. Taiven thought of a spell that would give them a chance and concentrated as best as he could with the Ra'zac only a few feet away.

_Jierda!_ he shouted in his head.

The creature stumbled backward as the spell hit it, and then it tipped its head back and voiced its creepy, screeching laugh. Taiven cursed. His focus must have slipped, producing a weak spell that didn't even phase it. The creature drew closer to them, but slowly as though taunting them. Taiven's stomach twisted and his absolutely frightened expression reflected back at him through the Ra'zac's dark black holes. Then, out of the corner of Taiven's eye, he vaguely saw a huge blue shadow barely visible in the dim lighting, and he could have sworn he saw it glitter. The Ra'zac paid no attention to it, or perhaps he just didn't see it, but the next thing Taiven saw was a long and very bright stream of flames shoot their way from the direction of the shadow. He jumped out of the way just in time, but the Ra'zac wasn't so lucky. Its cloak caught fire, and it fell into hysterics. The cloak, it seemed, was fastened securely around its shoulders, making it appear impossible to untie.

Suddenly, something grabbed Taiven's shoulder and he reacted with a swift punch in that direction. The person, for it was a person, caught his fist with ease.

"Whoa! Easy! I'm only trying to help," he said in a kind voice.

Taiven looked up to see an elf with brown eyes and light brown hair – wait, elves don't have brown hair. He looked around the room, his eyes settling on a huge blue dragon. _This must be the Rider, Eragon!_ he thought excitedly, then wondered how they even got in here with a dragon that size. He turned back to the Rider, who was offering his hand to help him up.

The Ra'zac, still occupied with its enflamed cloak, clicked and hissed, which soon brought the remaining Lethrblaka to its rescue.

"Come on," the Rider said. "I've got to get you out of harm's way. These creatures can get nasty."

When the Lethrblaka saw its offspring struggling with fire, it looked around for the culprits. Its creepy black eyes landed on Taiven and Eragon and it charged at them with all the fury of an enraged parent.

Taiven was too scared to move, but he watched as Eragon held up his right hand and shouted the very spell Taiven tried to do earlier. The Lethrblaka seemed to trip over its own legs and it came crashing down at their feet, making a loud boom resound off the walls. The ground rumbled as though an earthquake was underway, and its beak scratched across the stone floor, which made everyone cringe at the sound. Taiven, regaining the use of his legs, jumped out of the way even though the creature slid to a stop several feet from them. Eragon stayed where he was, grabbed his bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed it at the creature's head as it rose. He pulled back the string while the Lethrblaka hissed, giving him warning. Taiven thought it a little ridiculous for the creature to be warning _him,_ since he was the one with the advantage . . . or so he thought. When Eragon released the arrow, the Lethrblaka snapped the arrow in its beak with lightening speed. Both boys stared wide-eyed.

Eragon was the first to react as he backed away from the creature firing arrow after arrow, yet the form of attack wasn't at all effective. Although Eragon's rapid arrows were a blur to Taiven, the Lethrblaka saw every one and shattered them. Taiven wondered why Eragon used a bow and arrow in the first place and not his sword. Perhaps he didn't have one? It was strange to think that a Rider didn't have a sword, but as his eyes swept over Eragon, he realized that it must be true. When the Rider was finally on his last arrow, Taiven began to worry. What was he to use? He watched Eragon hesitate for a second, as though thinking of what he could do with it to slow the creature down since it was advancing quickly, and then he aimed. He released the arrow, shouting, "Brisingr!" A bright blue light shone at the arrow's tip, which illuminated the dimly lit room.

The Lethrblaka seemed to realize what the blue tipped arrow meant, either that or the word, and jumped out of the way, but not before the arrow grazed its back leg, leaving a trail of blue fire where the arrow scratched it. The creature screeched in pain as the small wound opened even more by the magic laced in the arrow. Because it more or less missed its target, the arrow hit the wall, causing a small explosion where pieces of the wall shot at them. Quite a few were fairly big and were hurling toward them, making Taiven cringe in fear of one or more of them pelting him. Eragon held up his right hand and the rubble shattered into teeny pieces, showering them with dust and very small pebbles. When the debris cleared, they saw the Lethrblaka struggling to put out the growing fire on its leg.

Suddenly, Taiven felt the strong force of power over his mind again. His eyes searched for the Ra'zac and he found it staring right at him. It managed to finally remove the enflamed cloak and was now telling him through the connection they shared to come toward it. Taiven didn't want to obey but it was as though he didn't have a choice. He felt his legs moving involuntarily straight for the Ra'zac.

The Ra'zac jumped on its parent with Taiven struggling in its grasp, and all three took off toward a wall. Taiven stopped squirming for a moment when he realized what they were heading toward. He thought it absurd that they would fly so fast toward an apparent dead end, and then struggled like mad for the Ra'zac to release him before they slam into it. The closer they became the more he twisted and turned, yet the Ra'zac held fast. He tightly shut his eyes and waited for the pain, but then felt his jaw drop when they went right through it into the crisp evening air. He couldn't even describe how amazing his first couple breaths were like after inhaling the dark mountain's stench for so long.

He looked back from where they came through, completely amazed by the concealment of entrances and exits throughout the mountain and was surprised how the Ra'zac developed such a feat without knowing how to do magic. He then figured that Galbatorix must have enchanted the mountain so as to keep people out, or even people _in_ (namely the Ra'zac's prisoners or victims). He thought back to his questioning of how Saphira got inside and now wondered how Eragon and she knew where the secret openings were hidden. Speaking of Saphira and Eragon . . .

The two swiftly made their way toward him and his captors. He grinned as he felt a tiny tremor through the Ra'zac's grip on him as it realized the Rider and his dragon were gaining on them. Then, completely not expecting it, he felt the creature fling him through the air with impressive force. He imagined his scream heard on the other side of Alagaësia as he fell toward the ground. His eyes watered freely as the wind whipped around him. Thinking that this was definitely his end, he was exceedingly surprised when he felt a scaled foot wrap its claws around his waist, saving him from his near death experience. He looked up graciously to see a grinning (at least, he thought she looked as though she was grinning) Saphira.

_Caught you,_ she said in an amused tone. Taiven managed a nervous laugh.

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Review, please!


	9. Chapter Nine

Thanks to my one loyal reviewer **alsdssg**!!

Disclaimer: See _Chapter One_

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_Chapter Nine_

Back on the ground, Eragon cursed fiercely while Taiven, feeling terrible himself, had his head bowed and scuffed his foot in the dirt. He didn't mean for the creatures to get away at his expense, and now Eragon will almost certainly dislike him for it. He wished he could say he was sorry, even if it probably wouldn't do him any good, but he had his _father_ to blame for that inconvenience.

He noticed the Rider and his dragon to be in conversation and she seemed to be calming him down since his facial features became softer. He flinched as they looked in his direction, and then he grew a little worried as Eragon walked over to him.

"Hello again. How are you doing? You look a little shaken," the Rider said in a gentle tone. Taiven nodded his head in surprise as he was expecting a lecture in a raised voice. Eragon laughed softly.

"So you're all right?" Again, he nodded his head.

"What's your name?" the Rider asked. Taiven bit his lip. Eragon's forehead wrinkled in what seemed to be in thought and confusion.

"What's the matter?" he asked. "Can't you speak?" Taiven shook his head and stared at his shoes. He felt the heat rise in his cheeks at not being able to utter one word to the person and his dragon who both just saved his life.

"Can you write your name?" he heard Eragon ask.

Taiven rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. _Why didn't I think of writing before? I used to write for Cale when he—Cale! Oh no, Cale! Is he okay? Where is he?_ Taiven looked around frantically. When he couldn't find him anywhere, he sprinted back to the mountain with Eragon and Saphira behind him. He felt around for the entrance, but couldn't find it. Eragon appeared beside him, and Taiven looked at him pleadingly. The Rider seemed to understand and led him over to another part of the mountain. He held out his hand to make sure it was the right place and he and Taiven went right through. Taiven rushed over to the last place he saw the boy and let out a huge sigh of relief when he found him. Cale was still unconscious, but other than that he seemed to be fine. He picked him up and carried him to Eragon. Saphira stayed outside probably looking out for the creatures; though, Taiven doubted that they would return tonight.

"I can help him if you'll let me," Eragon offered. Taiven nodded his head in appreciation. "All right, but let's go outside. This place reeks." Taiven wondered why the disgusting stench didn't affect him as usual and took a sample inhalation of the room—then choked on the air as the odor came back in full. His worry for Cale must have blocked his senses for a moment, but they were responsive now. His eyes even watered some from the force of smell from that one small breath.

Once outside of the mountain, and once Taiven took several heavenly gulps of the clean evening air, he set Cale down so that Eragon may help. The Rider crouched over him and put his right hand over Cale's forehead. He then spoke a word in the Ancient Language that Taiven didn't know. A soft blue light glowed around the boy's head, and Taiven watched in fascination when Cale opened his eyes. Confusion covered his face when he saw Eragon, but then he managed a small smile when his eyes rested on Taiven.

"Hi," he said.

Taiven smiled back. _How are you?_

_I'm fine. What happened?_ He tried to sit up but couldn't find the strength. Taiven helped him and supported his back as Cale looked around. _How did we get out here?_

_When the Ra'zac attacked us, your crystal formed a shield over us and it must have taken quite a bit of your energy because you blacked out. I carried you out here, and Eragon revived you._

_Really? Wow! Eragon must know some powerful magic. What happened to the Ra'zac?_

Before Taiven could answer, Eragon interrupted. "Who are you two? And why didn't the Ra'zac harm you?" he asked.

_I'll tell you all about the Ra'zac later. Right now, I'm going to need your help translating._

Cale smiled. _Okay, sure._ He looked up at Eragon. "My name is Cale, and this is my brother Taiven. He can't speak, so I'll be the voice for both of us."

"I'm Eragon, and this is Saphira." Saphira inclined her head. "How do you two communicate?"

"The same way you and Saphira do," Cale said simply, as though it was the only obvious answer. Eragon turned to Taiven.

"So you can mind speak and you didn't talk to me in that way?" Taiven shook his head.

"He says that it's wrong to go into someone's mind when they are unaware of the connection, or when they didn't allow you to," Cale answered. "It's a violation of their privacy."

"Well put," Eragon said. "You've been trained well . . . but by whom?"

_Tell him that it's common sense. I wouldn't want anyone to enter my mind without my consent,_ Taiven replied. Cale repeated it to the Rider. This seemed to satisfy him, but only for the moment. He looked past them and waved. Taiven and Cale turned to see who he was waving to and they could barely make out two figures in the late evening light. They drew closer and Taiven and Cale saw Katrina walking toward them supported by a muscular fellow with a hammer in his belt.

"Hiya, Katrina!" Cale shouted. She looked up, smiling. Her face was a ghostly white from lack of nutrition and sunlight, yet her blue eyes brightly sparkled.

Eragon's attention drew back to them. "You two know her?" he asked, surprised.

Cale shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Yeah, o' course. We were prisoners, she was a prisoner. We talked." Taiven almost laughed out loud at Cale's answer but thought better of it just in case Eragon took offense. He had to hide his broad smile behind his hand.

When the couple reached them, Taiven saw Katrina take in their unharmed figures with relief, but when she studied the Rider, confusion and surprise covered her face.

"Eragon? Is that you?" The Rider smiled.

"It's quite a change from the farm boy back home, isn't it?" he said.

"Roran warned me that you would look different, but I never expected . . ." she trailed off, then, "Who did this to you? You don't even look like yourself."

"It was done by elf and dragon magic combined, mostly dragon. It's a gift for their future."

"You?" He nodded, and for the first time after seeing him, she gave him a warm smile. "Well, let's hope our future doesn't have us all look like you," she joked. Roran chuckled, and Saphira made a strange noise with her teeth bared.

"Ah ha, very funny," Eragon said in a bored tone, but with a smile. He suddenly looked deep in thought, and then said, "Saphira believes we should be going, and I agree, but she can't carry all five of us. It's too much for her. We'll take Katrina and Cale first because they need to be taken care of first, and then we'll come back for Roran and Taiven."

At this, Roran made a huge fuss being separated from Katrina, Katrina was practically yelling at Eragon, saying that she was perfectly fine to stay while the smaller boys went first, and Cale attached himself to Taiven as though never to let go again, all the while whining that he didn't want to leave Taiven behind. Eragon held up his hands and shouted over the commotion. "All right! OKAY!" Silence followed and Eragon cleared his throat. "It seems as though my suggestion is overruled. We'll take Roran and Katrina first and then come back for the boys."

"I think the boys should go first. They seem to be in the worst state. Poor little Cale can barely sit up," Katrina said. This was partly true. Taiven still supported Cale's back while he sat, and the boy still looked pale and weak from the crystal taking his energy and blacking out. Taiven on the other hand was still a little shaken from his fall, but other than that, he was perfectly fine. Eragon looked hesitant. Taiven knew he wanted to get Katrina to a safe place first, but the girl was being too damn stubborn. Then Taiven remembered something that will help Eragon and himself.

_Cale! We need to search for our saddle bags! Everything we own is in them. Tell Eragon that he can take Roran and Katrina first, because we need to find our bags before we can leave._

Cale relayed what Taiven told him and Eragon looked pleased with the excuse of taking Katrina first. "Well that settles it then. Katrina, Roran, we'll take you first." Katrina didn't look very happy, but the other two did. Taiven just realized the relief shown on Roran's face as well. He wondered why Roran didn't speak up, but then thought it was probably safer for him to go along with whatever she said.

"We're going to be flying to Surda's capital, Aberon, so it won't be until early tomorrow morning before we come get you two." He pulled out a package from Saphira's saddlebag and handed it to Taiven. "There's enough food for two meals for each of you. I suggest that once you find your belongings, you get as far away from Helgrind and Dras Leona as you can. Saphira and I will find you." Taiven nodded his appreciation and thanks, hoping Eragon would translate it as such. The Rider smiled.

As the four flew off, Taiven told Cale he'd try not to be too long. Cale wanted to come with, but couldn't really stand on his own. He was too weak. Taiven helped him sit up against some huge black rocks outside the mountain so he could look at more than just the sky. He set the package of food down in front of Cale telling him to eat to regain his strength. Cale protested until he ate something too, but Taiven reassured him he'd eat when he found their bags. He felt Cale glowering at his retreating back, knowing that he only got away with not eating because Cale was in no fit state to chase after him. He finally found the entrance in the mountain after several tries, put his sleeve over his nose to try and drown out some of the smell and disappeared into its depths.

His sleeve really didn't do much. The smell seeped through the cloth and right into his nose. He gagged a couple of times, thankful that there was nothing in his stomach to see in reverse. He grabbed a rusted sword from one of the piles of remains along with a shirt, which he ripped into thick strips and tied them to the tip of the sword in a ball. Concentrating on the spell, a red light suddenly glowed through his closed eyes. When he opened them, a bright yellow and orange fire burned at the tip of his torch. He hoped the fabric would burn slow enough to where he wouldn't have to keep remaking his torch.

Taiven looked around and decided to go through the tunnel he watched the Lethrblaka disappear through not too long ago. Steadily walking forward, his eyes took in every nook and cranny of his surroundings, looking for anything that would lead him to the room he needed. He suddenly came to a split in the tunnel and felt that the left one was the one he should take. The long tunnel curved to the left and stretched on for what seemed like ever. It also seemed to be rising. Without realizing it, he made his way outside and found himself teetering on an edge. The cool night wind gently whipped about him, relieving him of the sweat that trickled down his neck from the hot, stuffy tunnels.

He finally turned around and headed back to the split in the tunnel. This time, he took the one on the right. Half way down, he saw a very small room on his left, but one quick glance told him that his saddlebags weren't in it. He continued down the hall where it took a sharp left and was about to follow the passageway, but something moving on the ground caught his eye. He thought it was a worm or a snake, but looking again he saw what appeared to be exactly half of a small rat with its tail flicking about. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, until the rest of the rat disappeared through the wall. His excitement surged through him as he stepped through the wall himself and looked around. He had accidentally found another hidden room – not just any room – it was the very room he was searching for, and lying on the ground next to a mass of other apparently valuable objects was his saddlebags.

Taiven raced over to the bags and rummaged through them frantically. The egg was safe and unharmed. He finally relaxed and let go of the breath he didn't even realize he was holding. Pulling together everything he figured he and Cale would need into two bags, he heaved them over his shoulders and made his way back out of the mountain.

On his way he saw the same small room he passed earlier, but this time stopped to see what was inside. Along the walls were several built in shelves, which held at least twenty bottles of a clear, shiny liquid. He knew that he should continue on, but his curiosity got the best of him. The bottles almost glittered by the light of the flickering fire, which seemed inviting and drew him in. Putting down the bags, he reached for one of the bottles and uncorked it.

Immediately afterward he held it at arms length as a putrid smell escaped from it. Still wondering what its purpose was, he looked around for something to pour it on. Not finding anything but his torch (instantly ruling out himself and the saddlebags, as he was sure it was something destructive), he settled for the bottom handle of the rusted sword. He held both of the two at arms length and carefully poured the liquid on the handle.

It oozed from the bottle, yet it didn't do a thing to the sword. Figuring that it probably doesn't affect metal, as the glass that held the liquid was still intact, he ripped off a sleeve and wiped the liquid from the handle. The fabric dissolved before his eyes. Then, wondering what its effect on fire was, he turned the sword around to where the ball of fire was now closer to the neck of the bottle. He figured a tiny drop would do and carefully tilted it toward the fire. However, more than just a tiny drop fell upon the flames.

BOOM!

The blast, though quite small, threw him from the room, ripping the sword and bottle from his grasp. He opened his swollen eyes as much as he could and groped for the wall. His face burned as though on fire, but with one quick touch of his hand, he discovered, fortunately, that it was not. He cried from the pain, but even the soft feeling of his tears falling down his burned cheeks made him wince with new spasms of discomfort, which made him cry even more. The pain felt as though it would never end.

He stood up with difficulty and looked in the room through his eyelashes. The torch, amazingly still lit with fire, and the now broken bottle were several feet apart from each other; nevertheless, he watched in horror as the liquid seeped toward the flames and his mouth opened in a silent scream. Grabbing the fallen saddlebags from the floor, he ran blindly and as fast as he could with the heavy saddlebags in the direction he knew was the exit, slamming into the walls when they curved slightly and stumbling over rocks. The wind from his run stung his face, but he didn't dare stop. Once in the huge room with the many piles of remains, he ran toward the wall leading outside and passed through it just before he heard a huge and earth shattering bang.

He ran for Cale with his arms over his head and the saddlebags banging heavily at his sides. Debris rained down around him, some as big as his head. As he ran, he thanked his lucky stars that he moved Cale a good distance from the mountain. When the boys face finally came into view, he took in the worried expression on his face. Then suddenly, a burst of pain emanated from his leg and he fell. He heard Cale shout his name. When he looked back at what had hit him, there was a rock the size of his fist lying next to his leg. He lifted his pant leg and saw a bruise already forming on his calf. Bits of debris kept falling on him and he watched as one about half the size of his head fall next to him.

"Taiven! Watch out!" Cale shouted. Taiven looked up, but it was too late. Another fist-sized rock sped toward him and hit him hard on his forehead. He watched dazedly from his place on the ground as Cale ran feebly over to him. Cale tried to force him up and out of the way, while Taiven tried to keep his consciousness. They somehow managed to make their way back to where Cale once was, and Taiven couldn't keep his focus any longer. He lay down his head and let the darkness envelope him.

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Yea! Another chapter! And another cliffy! Oh, wait. You probably aren't excited over that. Well anyway, thanks again **alsdssg**!! 

Review!


	10. Chapter Ten

Sorry this is out so late. I had a bit of writer's block. Hope you like. :)

Disclaimer: See _Chapter One

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_

_Chapter Ten_

Taiven awoke not knowing what happened for the third time in a short while. He kept his eyes closed since the sun was in his face while he groaned in pain. His forehead pounded as though someone was punching him there over and over. His hand rose to the spot. It was then when he realized that his face was clear of the burns, and his forehead didn't have a huge knot on it like Taiven imagined. He also realized that his head was upon a feather pillow and that he was laying on a soft bed instead of the ground he expected. Where exactly was he?

Looking around he found Cale right by his side, his head resting in his arms. By his slow breathing and soft snoring, the boy was obviously asleep. Taiven wondered how long he'd been out and how much of that time Cale had been by him. He wanted to know, but he didn't want to disturb Cale since he seemed exhausted. He decided to wait until the boy woke up and, to bide time, examined the room he now occupied. It was small, having only his bed, a small cot in the far corner, the chair he just noticed Cale was sitting in, and a little table acting as a desk as there was several pieces of parchment and a bottle of ink atop it. The sun shone in through a small barred window behind Cale, and the walls were made of stone. Taiven grew confused and wondered more than ever where exactly they were.

The boy stirred, bringing Taiven's attention back to him. Cale lifted his head, his sleepy eyes trying to take in the light of the room. When he saw Taiven awake, the sleep from his eyes vanished and a small grin broke upon his lips.

"Taiven! You're up! How're you feelin'?"

_Shhh, Cale. Not so loud. My head feels as though it's going to explode,_ Taiven answered.

"Oh, sorry," he whispered.

_Where are we?_

"In Surda's prison."

Taiven grew even more confused. _Surda's prison? How did we get here?_

"Eragon and Saphira picked us up the morning after you were hit in the head by that rock. He healed your burns and the bump that was on your forehead, but he told me that he couldn't wake you up like he did me. I forget why."

_How long have I been unconscious?_

His face scrunched in thought. "Only about one and a half days."

_So we just got here yesterday?_

"Umm… yeah. I guess we did." He laughed at himself. "I guess I could've just said yesterday morning, huh? Then we wouldn'tve had to—Whatchya lookin' for?"

Taiven was frantically searching the room with his eyes, still not feeling like getting up. He began to panic. _Where are our things, Cale?_

"Eragon took them," Cale began. "He asked me where we got the valuable object that was in one of the bags, and I told him that I had no idea what he was talking about. He then looked at you and his face went blank. He was like that for a few minutes until he turned to a man next to him and said that he couldn't see into your mind, which he said meant that there was a chance you could be dangerous. When he turned back to me, he asked me who we were. I just told him that we were servants, but he said that a servant didn't have the power to keep a Rider out of his mind, especially if he was asleep. So, he had us jailed, but I still don't know why. . . . Oh! You keeping him out of your mind is the reason he couldn't wake you up, too. I remembered that part."

_Hmmm… The reason we're imprisoned could be because he couldn't see into my mind to trust me, but that doesn't explain why he put you in here, too._

"I told him that I wasn't gonna leave you in a jail cell by yourself 'cause I figured you'd be confused when you woke up, and I was right.… What was the valuable object, Taiven?" Cale asked. He looked at Taiven with his big green eyes.

_It… uh… well, it… _Taiven gave a defeated sigh. _I should have told you ages ago, Cale._ Cale's eyebrows met in confusion. _You see,_ Taiven continued, _I didn't just take money from Galbatorix's treasury. I, I also took the remaining dragon egg._

Cale's eyes widened and his mouth was agape. "We had a dragon egg with us the entire time, and you didn't tell me?! I trusted you! I told you all my secrets and you didn't feel like you could tell me yours?"

_I know, and I'm _really_ sorry, Cale. That's the only thing I kept secret from you, I swear. I don't even remember why I kept it a secret… Maybe I didn't want you to know how much trouble we were actually in and have you worry about it._

"I can handle myself, Taiven," he said in a low voice. His hands were clenched in fists at his sides.

_I know you're angry, Cale, I would be angry, too. I guess I just didn't think about the consequences of not telling you._

"Well maybe you should have. I have to think about this," he said, turning his back on Taiven and going to the other end of the cell where the cot lay.

Taiven tried to tell Cale again that he was sorry, but he met a stone wall instead. It was a very feeble attempt to block him out, but Taiven could take a hint. He wasn't going to break through the wall just to say he was sorry. It would completely defy the point.

……………

When the sun set and the torches were lit, a guard came to give them their supper. Taiven figured that their meal would consist of stale bread and cold, runny gruel since he was used to seeing it fed to Galbatorix's prisoners. He was greatly surprised to see a healthy portion of roasted pork, steamed vegetables and even some fresh fruit. The guard watched his face and chuckled. His kind voice replied, "You may be imprisoned, but you must have done something to make Lady Nasuada happy. This feast is not normally what we give our prisoners."

Taiven gave him a weak smile and nodded. The guard surveyed him with deep blue eyes. The teen felt uneasy under his stare and began to busy himself with the food, scooping portions of everything on two plates. His stomach growled at the delicious smell of the food, but he was still hesitant eating in front of strangers, since he was sure none of them have seen someone eat without a tongue. It wasn't very dignified, and Taiven didn't want him laughing at him.

"You don't look dangerous," the guard said after a little while. Taiven looked up at him and shook his head. "You're quiet though. My father always told me to look out for the quiet ones. The little one over there," he said, gesturing at Cale, "now he isn't quiet at all, yelling at the other guards and me about disrespecting innocent visitors and whatnot." Taiven chuckled at this comment thinking, _If that means you think you shouldn't watch out for him, you'd be very wrong_. He looked over at a glaring Cale. His green eyes seemed to be shooting emerald daggers at the guard. Taiven could tell that he wanted to say something back at him, but his stubborn nature of not talking to Taiven kept him quiet. Apparently he didn't want Taiven to even hear his voice.

"Well, I'll let you two eat. Eragon Shadeslayer will be down to talk with you after you're finished," he said and left.

Taiven gave one of the plates to Cale, who wouldn't take it and made Taiven set it on the cot next to the boy instead. He then dug into the food, chewing so fast that if he still had a tongue, he probably would have bitten it several times. He poured himself a drink from the pitcher and exclaimed with glee as the smooth, dark red wine filled his cup. Growing up as Galbatorix's son, he knew very well that the wine was cheap, but he closed his eyes and savored every drop anyway. It seemed like it had been quite a long while since they had eaten and drank so well.

When their plates were empty and the boys' eyelids were drooping from eating too much, the guard came back to take away the tray. Eragon arrived shortly afterward, his expression passive.

"I'm going to ask you some questions," Eragon said in a neutral tone, "and I need you to answer me honestly. I will know if you lie. Understand?" Taiven nodded his head, walked over to the desk and grabbed some paper, ink, and a quill. He inclined his head to Eragon to begin his questioning.

"Where are you from?"

Taiven scribbled his answer on the paper. **Urû'baen.**

Eragon narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Are you in any way in allegiance with Galbatorix?"

Taiven felt his jaw tighten and shook his head while writing, **Absolutely not!**

"How did you acquire the egg?"

**We were servants under Galbatorix. He cut out my tongue, I stole his egg.**

"He cut out your ton… That's why you can't speak?" Taiven nodded. "What did you do?"

**Nothing. He was mad that you kept evading Murtagh, and because Murtagh wasn't really trying that hard to find you. I was the one he took his frustrations out on.**

"Murtagh isn't trying to find me?" Taiven shook his head. He watched as a tiny smile flickered upon Eragon's lips before it disappeared just as quickly. The Rider looked down at the paper in Taiven's hand. He then said, "Servants can't keep Rider's out of their minds—" Taiven snatched the paper out of Eragon's hand and began to write on the paper, making Eragon break off his sentence to see what his response would be.

**There are many types of servants under Galbatorix. Cale was a kitchen boy, I was in training to be a soldier who can also wield magic.**

Eragon looked up in surprise. "Not everyone can do magic. Only elves, Riders, Shades, and sorcerers, and I know you aren't the first three, so you must be a sorcerer. Yet, I've never met one so young who is as powerful as you." Taiven swallowed hard, which Eragon caught. "Are you not a sorcerer?"

Taiven slowly shook his head, knowing his true answer wouldn't be at all what the Rider would expect. He settled for another answer that he hoped would suffice, but it would need to be kept secret.

**Before I tell you, I want you to keep in mind that I know who your father is and that you are another example that we are nothing like our fathers.**

Eragon looked up from the paper and Taiven could already see Eragon's guess at who his father is.

**I must also ask you not to reveal this to anyone.**

"Saphira will know through me," Eragon said.

**Yes, well that's to be expected. No one else may know. Please.**

Eragon nodded. "I give you my word."

**Thank you.** Taiven hesitated. _He's going to hate me._ He took a deep breath and wrote, **I'm the son of the Rider Galbatorix.** Eragon's eyes grew wide. Once read, Taiven said a word in his head and bright flames leapt into his hand, disintegrating the paper, or rather, the evidence.

"I figured as much but it's different when confirmed. Excuse me for a moment." Eragon walked to the other end of the room. Taiven felt all his hope of redemption diminish. He wondered how long he'd have to stay imprisoned until they either accept him, or have him killed. Taiven was betting on the latter.

_Don't worry, Taiven,_ Cale said. _Everything'll turn out all right._

_You're talking to me now, huh?_

_Just for now. You seemed like you needed someone to tell you that. _

_Thanks, Cale. _

_I'm still mad at you, though._

_I know. I really am sorry._

Cale shrugged the apology off. _He'll come around,_ Taiven tried to reassure himself. He didn't remember a time when Cale was this mad at him. He hoped he didn't mess up their friendship too badly.

Taiven watched Eragon, looking for some sort of sign that would tell him whether he was going to die or not. The Rider finally came back over after a little while, and his expression didn't give away any emotions.

"I have more questions for you, and then I'm going to need a little time to think," he said. Taiven nodded his head. "Just because you're a Rider's son doesn't mean that you can do magic. How do you possess it without being a sorcerer?"

Taiven cursed. He had hoped that being a Rider's son would have let him get away with knowing magic, but Eragon was cleverer than what was good for him. The truth was far worse. He knew the young Rider wasn't ready for what he was about to tell him, but he supposed that Eragon should know everything about who he is going up against.

Taiven thought back when he was only eight years old to the day when his father spoke to him in some language he had never heard of and felt a strong power envelop him, lifting him up into the air. It forced its way into his mind, searching. Pain erupted throughout his body, making him writhe in the air. After what felt like several minutes, he felt his feet touch the ground and the force left him, making him collapse. He realized that some of the power didn't leave his body completely and took up residence in a far corner in his mind – his newfound magic.

Taiven blinked back the memory and put his quill to a new sheet of paper. **Galbatorix did something to me when I was younger. He knows words in a forgotten language, or maybe even an unknown language he created, that has no bounds to what he can do. He wanted me to learn magic before I was chosen to become a Rider. Whatever he did to me forced my mind to do just that. I had the power of magic without even becoming anything that would normally wield magic. Not an elf, not a Shade, not a Rider, not even a sorcerer. It was just in me somehow. Afterward, Galbatorix made me learn the Ancient Language and everything else that has to do with magic, but I was never to learn his other language. That one, he told me, was for him and him alone. He was greatly disappointed when neither the red, nor the green egg chose me. From then on I was ignored, rejected, or the one he took out his frustrations.**

Eragon read in surprise, but he seemed unconvinced – the exact reaction Taiven figured he'd have. "This language you speak of, do you know what it's called?" Taiven lowered his eyes and shook his head. "I don't believe this. He knows a language we don't that can do impossible things? I asked you not to lie to me."

Taiven's eyes shot up, glaring into the Rider's brown ones. Eragon actually took a step back from the intensity of the sudden fierce look. Taiven may have expected Eragon's reaction, but when Galbatorix cut out his tongue for a lie he didn't say, Taiven found that he loathed being called a liar when he knew he told the truth. He snatched the quill from the desk and wrote furiously, **I am NOT lying. I can show you if you let me.**

Eragon looked at him, his expression skeptical. "All right then. Show me."

Taiven took down his walls around his consciousness and felt the presence of another, patiently waiting on the other side. It began to search through his mind, one painful memory after another, until Taiven forced the particular one up front. Both minds relived the memory up until young, eight year old Taiven passed out from his experience. The other mind removed itself soon after. Taiven immediately put his wall back up.

"I'm sorry," Eragon said contritely. "I didn't want to believe you."

**I understand.**

"This changes everything. How are we supposed to defeat a Rider that grows more powerful each day, and now has a language no one has heard of that can do these things?"

Taiven thought a moment. **You could release the source of his power.**

Eragon's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

**Galbatorix's power has a source. I know what it is; I just don't know where to find it.**

"Well, what is it?"

Taiven smirked. **It's called the Vault of Souls.

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**

Yea! Chapter Ten is finally out! Sorry it took so long, people.

Review, please!

By the way, for those of you who read my other Eragon fanfiction, I know I've used the idea of the Vault of Souls in that one as well (because it's such a great reason how Galbatorix has all that power) but I do switch it up a bit so you aren't reading the same thing over again. :)


	11. Chapter Eleven

Thanks to my two reviewers! So it seems that this story is becoming less and less popular with the very few reviews it receives, but no matter. As much as I like to hear from my readers, my lack of reviews will not keep me from finishing this story, which may or may not be good news for some of you, I guess. We shall see. Anyway, on to the next chapter!

Disclaimer: See _Chapter One

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_

_Chapter Eleven_

"The Vault of Souls?" Eragon repeated, astounded. Taiven nodded his head. "How do you know this?"

Taiven dipped his quill in the ink and wrote on a piece of paper in answer. **I used to sneak around ****Galbatorix's**** throne room when he was talking about it to Murtagh, who, by the way, has the same power within him.**

Eragon's surprise increased. "Murtagh has this power, too?"

**Well, yeah. How else do you explain how much more powerful he and Thorn were when they fought you and Saphira on the Burning Plains?**

Taiven hid his smile as the Rider's jaw hung open in shock. Eragon shook his head to clear his thoughts and closed his mouth. "This is crazy."

**Yet believable**, Taiven wrote.

"How does the Vault give them power?"

Taiven thought for a moment. **I only heard bits and pieces of that conversation, but I think Galbatorix found some way to trap ****a number of**** souls in some vault somewhere and then uses the energy from the souls, or something like that.**

"And you have no idea where it is?"

**Not exactly, but I think I overheard something about the location being over water on some island.**

Eragon looked deep in thought. Then a revelation seemed to pass through his expression. "You don't mean . . ." he said more to himself. He looked up at Taiven. "Do you think he means Vroengard?"

Taiven shrugged his shoulders and wrote, **He could****. I'm really not sure, as I've told you before.**

"No, right. Of course. Where else would he mean, though?" Eragon asked, not really expecting an answer. He was silent for awhile, most likely pondering over the thought and discussing it with Saphira. Then he broke the silence with, "So Galbatorix is your father . . ." Eragon's eye's traveled to Taiven's mouth. "I can't believe he disabled his own son."

**Yes, but in his eyes ****I was disowned the day I was rejected by the dragon eggs.**

Eragon shook his head in anger. "That does _not_ make it okay. You were still technically his son whether he accepted you or not. My own father threw a sword at Murtagh when he was only three. Sliced his back open at three years old. His own son. Did you know that?" Taiven nodded his head. He remembered the screams from the boy about his back when they wrestled too roughly at a much younger age. Eragon's fists clenched. "These men, our fathers, were not and are not good people. Galbatorix has to be stopped! Are you willing to help me bring down your father?"

Taiven looked him square in the eyes and nodded. Then he wrote, **We**** may have their ****blood coursing within our own****, Eragon, but they ****do not get the privilege of the name**** 'father'**

Eragon nodded reaching his hand through the bars and placing his hand on Taiven's shoulder. "Thanks," he said. He looked over at Cale, who was now standing beside Taiven, but not too close. His eyes came back to Taiven. "What were you planning to do with the egg before we confiscated it?"

Taiven smiled and put his quill to paper.**Believe it or not, but Cale and I were actually on our way to Surda to find the Varden to give the egg to them. We were captured by the ****Ra'zac****, and that's where you found us.**

"Hah! So your egg ended up exactly where you wanted accidentally? That's kind of funny. . . . What was your plan after you gave the egg up?"

**Well, I was hoping to find somewhere safe for Cale to live. It'll be too dangerous for him to be with me while I**** join the Varden**** army**** – that is,**** if they'll ****let**** me**** join**

Eragon sighed deeply and replied, "You seem trustworthy enough, Taiven, but so was Murtagh before he betrayed us" – Taiven was going to protest but then Eragon added – "whether he was forced to or not. I can't take that chance again." He sighed again, as though not really wanting to continue. " . . . I have to ask you if I can _see_ if you're true to your word, since you cannot swear to me. I'm sorry, but this is the only way you'll be released from your cell."

Taiven realized that the Rider meant to probe his mind to make sure he meant well. He nodded and then wrote, **I understand.**

"You might want to sit down for this. I'll try to make it as painless as possible," Eragon said, as Taiven felt a consciousness on the outside of the walls that surrounded his mind. He took a seat on his bed and gradually let his walls down.

The probe felt as though a thick needle was stabbing his consciousness repeatedly as it made its way through his mind. Memories flashed before him: Days of his young self actually feeling wanted by his father; Throwing bits meat to the glittering, black mountain named Shruikan, who caught each piece in his enormous jaws and laughed, shaking the entire cave; Training in both magic and combat in preparation to become a Rider; Touching both the green and red egg in the treasure room, only to be rejected and then later disowned; Numerous memories of Galbatorix torturing him in many unthinkable ways; The day his father cut out his tongue, and him and Cale slipping away with the King's prized possession; Their imprisonment at Helgrind, and then finally ending with their meeting of Eragon and Saphira.

The process was painful, but it really wasn't much compared to the things Galbatorix had done to him. There were even times where he made Taiven engage in battles with his mind just to prove Taiven's severe inferiority. Galbatorix would always win, of course, usually not taking more than a couple minutes – and minutes only because he would drag it out since the battles would be excruciating.

Eragon finally removed his consciousness, and Taiven felt more exhausted than he had in awhile. He fell back upon his pillow.

"Are you all right?" Eragon asked, actually sounding concerned. Taiven nodded his head, feeling Cale beside him. The boy squeezed his arm. Taiven looked over and gave him a weak smile.

"No more secrets," Cale whispered. His eyes bore right into Taiven's, as though looking deep within him. "Promise?"

_I promise, Cale. No more secrets._ Cale's features softened and he actually smiled.

"Once you've rested," Eragon began, "I'll show you to a proper room."

"So he passed the test?" Cale asked. Eragon looked at Taiven.

"You seem true to your word. Don't betray my trust, or you will have more than only me and Saphira after you." Taiven inclined his head and then looked toward Cale, who laughed. Eragon glanced between the two with a confused and almost suspicious expression.

"Taiven said that you, and especially Saphira, are enough of a threat," Cale explained. Eragon laughed himself.

"Yeah, Saphira can be quite intimidating," he agreed. "Well, I'm going to tell someone to set up a room for you."

An hour later, Taiven was feeling much better as he and Cale settled into their new room. It was considerably bigger than their cell, but it was also much warmer, as the walls weren't made of cold stone. Taiven hated to imagine the heat during the day. He was already feeling uncomfortably warm and it was still dark outside.

The next morning proved his theory right. He and Cale both woke to find their bodies, clothes, and sheets soaked with their perspiration. He peeled off his pants and long-sleeved tunic, leaving his underwear on as he and Cale were sharing the room, and threw them aside. He found a cloth next to a basin, using it to mop up the rest of the sweat from his body. When he went to replace the cloth, he realized that there was a pitcher of water next to the basin and poured some water into it. He dipped his hands into the lukewarm water and splashed some upon his face, thinking that it would have been more refreshing if the water was cooler. Cale pulled his tunic off as well and Taiven noticed that Cale was much skinnier than he thought. The oversized tunic the boy usually wore made it seem like he was much bigger around, yet now he seemed barely larger than Taiven's thigh.

_We need to fatten__ you up, Cale. I can __count each of__ your ribs,_ Taiven joked.

"Yeah? Well, you're no fatter than I am. Take a look," he retorted, pointing at the mirror atop a vanity in a corner. Taiven walked over and glanced at his figure. Cale was right. He did look quite a bit thinner than when they left the castle some weeks ago; although, he couldn't really see his ribs like he could Cale's.

Suddenly a brief knocking interrupted them.

"Come in!" Cale answered.

_"Cale!__ No! We aren't decent!_ Taiven yelled, but it was too late. A girl with long, brown hair came through the door sooner than Taiven could react and dropped the clothes he just then realized she was carrying. Her piercing blue eyes met his, and then flashed over his nearly naked body which he tried to cover up with the see-through canopy from the bed, looking terribly ridiculous. They stared at each other for a brief moment, too embarrassed to do anything else and both turning a deep shade of scarlet. Cale said something inaudible to Taiven, but the sound broke their trance and she quickly left the room. Taiven threw aside the canopy and glared at the boy.

_Good one, Cale. Now put y__our shirt on and go apologize. Hurry up!_ he added, as Cale sauntered over to his tunic. He pulled it on and rushed out the door. Taiven gathered the clothes she dropped, and set the small set for Cale on his bed, noting that both tunics were short-sleeved. He managed to change into the light blue tunic and dark blue leggings before Cale returned, looking embarrassed.

_How did it go?_

"She uh, accepted _my_ apology . . . but said she needed to hear one from you too, and not through me. I told her that it was impossible because you were mute, so she suggested it to be written and hand delivered by you," Cale said awkwardly.

_Did you also mention that it was your fault, or did you conveniently leave that part out?_ Taiven asked in a slightly irritated tone. He was going to apologize to her anyway, but now that she required one, he was more reluctant to give it.

"I . . . forgot?"

_Uh huh._ Taiven folded his arms over his chest. He was tempted to just forget about the apology, but then thought better of it. He couldn't afford to disrespect anyone right now, especially if she turned out to be someone of importance, which, he thought, was highly unlikely since she was delivering clothes, but she _could_ know someone in a high place. Taiven sighed, giving in. _Very well.__ Did she mention where I could find her?_

"She said to ask Lady Nazuwuhda where to find her."

_Lady __N__azuwuh__da? __Are you sure that's her name?_

"No."

_Well did she give you _her_ name?_

"Uh… yeah, I think so," he said, and then remained silent. Taiven gave him a look that said plainly, 'well?'

_What is it?_

"Oh! Umm . . ." Cale squinted his eyes while his brow furrowed, as though trying to think really hard. "I don't remember."

Taiven rolled his eyes. _Well thanks for your insightful information, Cale. Get dressed. I'll wait outside,_ he said, closing the door behind him. Almost a minute later, Taiven saw Eragon walking through the hallway.

"Oh, hello, Taiven. I didn't expect to meet you out here." Taiven gave a respected nod. "I was just coming to see you, actually. I wanted to request your appearance at a meeting that is about to take place in an hour. I'd tell you what it's about, but you never know who might be listening." He looked up and down the hall. "Anyway, I'll come get you in a half an hour." Taiven held up his hand in askance for Eragon to wait.

_Cale? __You about done in there?__ I need you for a minute._ Two seconds later the door opened, revealing Cale in his new, light green tunic and black leggings.

"What?" he asked irritably, and then catching sight of Eragon, developed an awkward expression and said, "Oh! Sorry, sir. What is it you need?"

I _need you to ask him where you will be during the meeting,_ Taiven replied.

"What meeting? And how come I can't come?" Cale asked with a whiny tone.

"Oh, right," Eragon muttered more to himself. He then turned to Taiven. "Umm… perhaps he could just stay in the room until the meeting is over?"

"Why can't I come?" Eragon looked a little uneasy.

"It really isn't a meeting for kids."

"I have just as much right to be there as Taiven does. We _both_ rescued the egg _and_ brought it here," Cale argued. Eragon 'shhed' him and nervously glanced up and down the hallway. Taiven thought about what Cale said.

_You do have a point…__ Tell him that I would like to ask if you may be present._

Cale's eyes shone with gratitude. "Really, Taiven?"

_Yeah, but it's up to them, not me._

"Okay," Cale answered and turned to Eragon. "Taiven would like to ask if I can be present at the meeting."

Eragon looked pensive. "Well, it really isn't my decision, but I'll ask if it will be all right." Cale's small grin broadened. "I will be back in a half an hour to get either both of you, or only Taiven." And with that, he left.

Cale turned to Taiven. "So you wanna go find Lady Nazuwuhda?"

_Not right now. We only have a half hour, and I haven't even written my apology yet._

"Well then what do you think we could do in our half hour? I wanted to explore a little."

_We'll have time for that later. Besides, exploring means we have to walk and I'm alrea__dy sweating in this__ tunic.__ Occupy yourself until the meeting. I'm going to write my apology._

"Okay," Cale answered in a small voice. He looked disappointed, making Taiven add, _We can explore the castle after the meeting, okay?_

"Yeah, okay."

Taiven sat down at the desk and began to write. He figured he would tell the girl what had happened along with him telling her that the entire situation was regrettable. Once finished, he heard a knock on the door. He folded the letter and then let Eragon in.

"You two ready?" he asked, smiling. Cale's eyes brightened.

"You mean I can come?" Eragon nodded his head and Cale 'whooped', making the Rider laugh.

"There's only one rule," the Rider continued. Cale looked at him expectantly. "There will be no talking unless Taiven needs to say something. Understand?"

"Yes, sir!" Cale said enthusiastically, and then cupped his mouth with his hand to show he would abide by the rule.

"All right. Let's head on down then." He stopped suddenly and turned toward Taiven. "By the way, the council know about your being unable to speak, but Saphira and I figured it best not to tell anyone about your unfortunate relation. It would cause more problems than is necessary." Taiven nodded, trying to converse his gratitude through his expression. Eragon seemed to have interpreted his meaning, because the Rider gave him a knowing smile.

They made their way to a room with a long table where five people sat. There was a man in his mid-twenties at the head of the table. He wore regal clothing and a crown atop his head. To the right of him sat a very pretty woman about Taiven's age, wearing a nice dress and who held herself like nobility. To the right of the woman was a man with strong arms and a somewhat stern expression. Across from them sat two men, one in what seemed to be an orange military uniform, no doubt one of Surda's, and the other was in some expensive looking clothes.

Eragon turned to the boys beside him. "Taiven, Cale, this is King Orrin of Surda," he said, gesturing to the man at the head of the table. "Lord Byron, chief of the King's council, General Rienfeld of the Surdan army, Lady Nasuada, the leader of the Varden," – at this, Taiven smirked inwardly and said to Cale, _'Lady __Nazuwuhda__'?_

_That's what it sounded like at the time . . . I thought,_ he replied with embarrassment.

"And Jörmundur, head of the Varden army," he concluded, gesturing to the man beside Lady Nasuada. Each person inclined their heads as he introduced them. Taiven nudged Cale.

"Oh, uh, pleased to meet you all," he said as he and Taiven bowed.

"I still don't understand why they have to be present," replied the general, watching the boys with cautious eyes.

Eragon stepped forward, bringing the attention to him. "I asked for them to attend. They have a right to know what will happen to the egg, since they are the one's who risked their lives to deliver it here."

"They didn't have to be here for the meeting though, Rider Eragon," said King Orrin. "You could have told them what will become of the egg after we were through here. We weren't only going to talk about the egg."

"I understand that, sire, but there was another reason in bringing him here: Taiven would like to request a place in the Varden army." The expressions on each face held suspicions for Taiven as they sized him up with their eyes. Taiven felt exposed somehow though he knew he was wearing clothes. Their stares filled him with unease.

Finally, Lady Nasuada spoke, addressing the council. "Eragon wouldn't have let him out of his imprisonment if he suspected him of treachery. Besides, if he proves to have skills in weaponry and magic as we are led to believe, he will be a valuable ally."

"Or a most unfortunate enemy," Jörmundur argued. "We trusted another somewhat similar to this boy, which resulted in our worst betrayal yet. Are we willing to take the same risk?"

Taiven listened to them with a tinge of annoyance. They spoke as though he wasn't even in the room, but since he couldn't exactly defend himself, he supposed he might as well not be there. He thought about using Cale to voice his argument, but who would listen to a child?

"I have personally examined his mind," expressed Eragon, "and found nothing that poses him as a threat."

"So you would be prepared, young Rider, to take full responsibility of his actions if he displays any type of disloyalty," Lord Byron proposed. Taiven and Cale looked at Eragon, who kept his head toward the council.

"I am willing to do so," he replied. The entire room gazed at him with wide, surprised eyes.

_Wow,_ thought Taiven. _I've never had someone stand up for me like that__ before._

"All right then," King Orrin said. "Now that that's settled, why don't you three have a seat so that we may begin our meeting?"

Eragon took a seat next to Jörmundur, Taiven beside him, and Cale sat at the end of the table. The King raised an eyebrow, and Taiven mentioned to Cale that perhaps that wasn't the best place for him. Cale smiled sheepishly and took the seat across from Taiven, leaving an empty chair between him and General Rienfeld.

"Now," continued King Orrin, "down to business. I propose that the egg stay here for a time while every boy touches the egg to see if it will hatch for him."

"The legends have female Riders as well, sire," said Lady Nasuada. "It's highly unfair for only the boys from your Kingdom to be allowed close to the egg. Females from the Varden will certainly be encouraged to try their luck at becoming the next Rider."

"Certainly a _girl_ hasn't the capability required in becoming a Rider," replied General Rienfeld, nearly laughing.

"No, she is right. There have been female Riders in the past," Lord Byron argued.

"What sort of 'capabilities' do you think is required for a Rider?" Lady Nasuada asked in a calm, yet somehow domineering tone. "And why is a girl beyond them?"

_Hey Taiven?_ Cale voiced in his head.

_Not right now, Cale. I'm trying to listen._

He watched as the general's amused expression fall at Nasuada's questions.

_But I remembered something and I might forget later,_ insisted Cale.

"She has to be strong and a good leader while also having talent in swordsmanship and the bow," Rienfeld answered, making Nasuada's eyes narrow almost unnoticeably.

_All right, what?_

"And you think a girl is beyond this?" Taiven saw her eyes flash, yet her expression was as calm as ever.

Taiven noticed vaguely as Cale spoke to him and barely caught the last part of his sentence. . . . -s_uada__ for __Kenna_.

_Kenna?_

_Yeah. That's the girl's name._

_Oh,_ Taiven replied, finally understanding. _Okay. Thanks, Cale. I'll ask her after this meeting - or rather, I'll have _you_ ask her._

"Counsil, please," Eragon interrupted. "We're getting off subject."

"Too right," agreed King Orrin. "It appears I am mistaken, and therefore girls may also have the chance to touch the egg."

"However," added Eragon. "If a Rider is not chosen here, we will have to choose a certain amount of guards to accompany me in delivering the egg to Ellesméra." Many nodded their heads. An idea came to Taiven.

_Cale, tell them that I volunteer__ for an egg courier._ Cale turned to Taiven, looking scared to say anything to these leaders. _Come on, Cale._

"Um, excuse me?" Cale said barely above a whisper. Eragon was the only one who turned to him. _He must have really good hearing_, Taiven thought to himself. The Rider then turned to Taiven in askance of whether he wanted to say something. Taiven nodded his head.

"Hold on," Eragon said above the others. "Cale needs to voice something for Taiven." He turned to the boy, who seemed terrified that all eyes were on him. "Go on."

Cale swallowed hard, cleared his throat and then squeaked, "Taiven would like to volunteer for an egg courier." They turned to Taiven, who again nodded his head.

"Why is that?" asked General Rienfeld, not bothering to mask his distrust of him.

_Just repeat what I tell you, Cale,_ Taiven said.

Cale wet his lips and replied, "He says that the rumors of him knowing weaponry and magic are correct and would like the chance in protecting the egg further from the clutches of the hated King Galbatorix. We brought the egg this far and would like to see it hatch for a person with a good heart. The opportunity of visiting the elves is a major benefit as well."

"Yes, I'm sure that the location of the elves would be a 'major benefit' for whomever you report back to," General Rienfeld countered.

Taiven's eyes flashed and he heard Cale retort, "We don't report back to anyone!"

"That's enough!" bellowed King Orrin. The room fell to a deathly quiet. Taiven was impressed at how much authority the King held, even though he was much younger than his subjects.

Lady Nasuada was the first to speak. "You have been to Ellesméra already, Eragon, _and_ you are one of the couriers. Do you think he will be trusted by the elves?"

"It's hard to say since the elves weren't too keen on trusting me at first, but Saphira and I trust him so hopefully that will be enough."

"Then it is settled," replied the King. "Taiven is now an official egg courier. Let's only hope we won't need any." General Rienfeld's expression hardened.

"It isn't necessary for the two to be present for the remainder of our meeting now, Rider Eragon," Lord Byron said. "Perhaps it's best for them not to know anyway."

"Yes, you're probably right," Eragon agreed. He turned to them. "Unless you have anymore questions, you are free to leave." Taiven prodded Cale.

"We have a question for the Lady Nasuada, please," Cale said. The woman inclined her head for him to continue. "Taiven needs to find a girl by the name of Kenna. She said you would know where to find her." An amused smile played upon her lips for a moment before disappearing.

"Kenna?" asked King Orrin. "What about Kenna?"

"Yes," Nasuada said, ignoring the King. "She told me about your unusual meeting." Her expression was passive, but her eyes were laughing. Taiven felt his cheeks burn and watched the pink color in Cale's cheeks deepen. "She's in the library. Just ask a servant to show you the way."

"Thank you," Cale managed to reply, and then they both headed for the door, eager to escape the quizzical stares of the other leaders.

"Well now wait a minute. Why do they need to find Kenna?" King Orrin insisted. Taiven looked back to see Nasuada answering his questions. He wondered why the King was so interested.

Once outside, Cale decided that he was going to return to their room as he had no intention of repeating his embarrassing conversation with the girl. Taiven figured it was just as well, because then he wouldn't have a way to speak to her and could just deliver his apology and leave. He had Cale tell a servant to lead Taiven to the library, and then the boy left in the opposite direction, assuring Taiven that he knew the way back.

The library was a decent size, mostly filled with scrolls of science and philosophy. These sorts of subjects held little interest for Taiven, though, and he soon found himself in a small section of the library containing scrolls of history. His wide, surprised eyes browsed the titles with hunger, yearning to read each and every one. These types of scrolls were banned in Alagaësia, as many of them were tales of Riders and their dragons. Many of the scrolls having to do with history were burned, so he was delighted to find some still intact. Maybe he could ask the King if he could borrow a couple scrolls. He'd read them now, but he had a letter to deliver.

He found the girl curled up with a scroll in one of the several armchairs scattered about the room. As he drew closer to her, he noticed that she looked to be around his age, maybe a little younger. He cleared his throat quietly so as not to frighten her but to have her notice him at the same time. She looked up from her reading and gazed at him. He watched as her eyes lit up while her lips curled into a small smile. Taiven had to admit that the girl was quite striking. He felt his mouth open slightly in awe.

"Hello," she greeted. Taiven quickly closed his mouth and inclined his head in acknowledgement. He shyly held out the letter for her. "Oh. Thank you."

After the letter was given, half of him wanted to leave, but for some reason he couldn't explain, he felt compelled to stay. _Just until she reads my apology,_ he told himself. When she finished reading, however, he stayed where he was. She folded the letter and placed it next to her.

"It's a good letter. It made me feel somewhat ashamed to ask one of you, since it wasn't your fault." She smiled at him. He wanted to tell her not to worry about it, and that he was going to apologize to her anyway, but he couldn't. He could only look at her and try to interpret what he wanted to say through his expressions.

"So you really can't speak?" she asked. He shook his head. "How do you communicate?" He pointed to the letter and then at his head.

"Through letters and thought?" He nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry." Taiven shrugged his shoulders.

"It must be pretty hard to cope with sometimes, huh?" He nodded again, but shrugged it off and gave her a smile, which she returned. She looked deeply into his eyes with her bright blues ones and he felt himself blush. She smiled again.

"Well, thank you again for the letter. I hope to see you again soon," she said, making him smile.

All the way back to his room, he couldn't get those gorgeous blue eyes out of his head.

* * *

Wow. This is my longest chapter out of every fanfic I have. It's over 4600 words! How crazy is that? I just couldn't find a good place to stop. More reading for you, though. Yea! 

Review!


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